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MAJOR-GENERAL BROCK. 
(From miniature painting by ./. Hudson.) 
Copyrighted in the U. S. A. and Canada. 



— From Nursey's "Story of Isaac Brock" (Briggs). 



BROCK CENTENARY 

1812-1912 



ACCOUNT OF THE CELEBRATION AT 

QUEENSTON HEIGHTS, ONTARIO, 

ON THE 12th OCTOBER, 1912 



ALEXANDER FRASER, LL.D. 

Editor 



TORONTO 

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED FOR THE COMMITTEE BY 

WILLIAM BRIGGS 

1913 



V J ^ 






DEDICATED 

TO 

THE DESCENDANTS OF THE DEFENDERS 



t — 



vfSSC 



Copyright, Canada, 1913, by 
ALEXANDER FRASER 



PREFATORY NOTE 

The object of this publication is to preserve an 
account of the Celebration, at Queenston Heights, 
of the Brock Centenary, in a more convenient and 
permanent form than that afforded by the reports 
(admirable as they are) in the local newspapers. 

Celebrations were held in several places in On- 
tario, notably at St. Thomas, where Dr. J. H. Coyne 
delivered a fervently patriotic address. Had re- 
ports of these been available, extended reference 
would have been gladly and properly accorded to 
them in this book. Considerable effort, involving 
delay in publication, was made to secure the name 
of every person who attended at Queenston Heights 
in a representative capacity, and the list is prob- 
ably complete. 

For valuable assistance acknowledgment is due 
to Colonel Ryerson, Chairman of the General and 
Executive Committees; to Miss Helen M. Merrill, 
Honorary Secretary, and to Mr. Angus Claude Mac- 
donell, K.C., M.P., Toronto. Also to Mr. Walter 
R. Nursey, for the use of the pictures of General 
Brock, Col. Macdonell, and Brock's Monument, 
from his interesting work : " The Story of Brock," 
in the Canadian Heroes Series ; and to the Ontario 
Archives, Toronto, for the use of the picture of the 
first monument erected to Brock on Queenston 
Heights. 

Alexander Feaser. 




I.IM'TKNANT C'll.ONKI. John Macdonei.l. 

ill tid-dc-Camp to Major-Gcneral Sli Isaat Brock I M P. for Gleiigni 
Attorney-General "t' Upper Canada, 



- From tfursey's " Story of [saac Brock" (Briggs). 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Prefatory Note 3 

Introduction — J. Stewart Carstairs, B.A. 9 

Preliminary Steps 21 

General Committee Formed 25 

Programme Adopted 26 

Reports of Committees 29 

Celebrating the Day 32 

At Queenston Heights — 

Representatives Present 34 

Floral Decorations 40 

A Unique Scene 42 

Historic Flags and Relics 43 

Letters of Regret for Absence 44 
The Speeches — 

Colonel G. Sterling Ryerson 45 

Mr. Angus Claude Macdonell, M.P. 50 

Hon. Dr. R. A. Pyne, M.P.P. .... 55 

Colonel George T. Denison 58 

Mr'. J. A. Macdonell, K.C. 61 

Dr. James L. Hughes 67 

Chief A. G. Smith 71 

Warrior F. Onondeyoh Loft 74 

Mr. Charles R. McCullough - 75 
Appendix I. — Highland Heroes in the War of 1812-14 

— Dr. Alexander Fraser 77 
Appendix II. — Programme of Toronto Garrison Ser- 
vice in Massey Hall - . - - 82 
Appendix III. — Indian Contributions to the Recon- 
struction of Brock's Monument - 88 
Appendix IV. — Meetings of the Executive Committee 

subsequent to the Celebration - 91 

Appendix V. — Captain Joseph Birney - - - 93 

5 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

pao 
Major-General Brock ----- Frontispiece 

Lieutenant-Colonel John Macdonell, Provincial Aide-de-Camp 

to Major-General Sir Isaac Brock ----- 5 

Executive Committee --------28 

First Monument to General Brock at Queenston Heights' - - 33 
Brock's Monument ---------34 

Central section of a panoramic picture of the gathering at 

Queenston Heights --------36 

Floral Tribute placed on Cenotaph, where Brock fell, by the 

Guernsey Society, Toronto -------38 

Memorial Wreaths placed on the Tombs, at Queenston Heights, 
of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, Kt., and Colonel John 
Macdonell, P.A.D.C., Attorney-General of Upper Canada - 41 

Wreath placed on Brock's Monument in St. Paul's Cathedral, 

London, Eng., by the Government of Canada 42 

Wreath placed on Brock's Monument, Queenston Heights, by 

the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire 42 

Conferring Tribal Membership on Miss Helen M. Merrill 43 

Six Nation Indians celebrating Brock's Centenary at Queenston 

Heights ----------44 

Colonel George Sterling Ryerson, Chairman of Committee - 45 

Angus Claude Macdonell, K.C., M.P., addressing the gathering - 51 

Hon. R. A. Pyne, M.D., M.P.P., Minister of Education of Ontario 58 

James L. Hughes, LL.D., Chief Inspector of Schools, Toronto - 58 

Colonel George T. Denison, Toronto ------ 58 

J. A. Macdonell, K.C., Glengarry, addressing the gathering - 61 

Chief A. G. Smith, Six Nation Indians, Grand River Reserve - 71 

Captain Charles R. McCul lough, Hamilton, Ont. 71 

Warrior F. Onondeyoh Loft, Six Nation Indians, Toronto 71 

Members of Committee at Queenston Heights 77 
Group of Indians (Grand River Reserve) celebrating Brock's 

Centenary at Queenston Heights ----- 88 

Captain Joseph Birnie --------93 

7 



INTRODUCTION 
BROCK AND QUEENSTON 

By John Stewart Carstairs. B.A., Toronto 

Brock's fame and Brock's name will never die 
in our history. The past one hundred years have 
settled that. And in this glory the craggy heights 
of Queenston, where in their splendid mausoleum 
Brock and Macdonell sleep side by side their last 
sleep, will always have its share. Strangely 
enough, who ever associates Brock's name with 
Detroit? Yet, here was a marvellous achievement : 
the left wing of the enemy's army annihilated, its 
eloquent and grandiose leader captured and two 
thousand five hundred men and abundant military 
stores, with the State of Michigan thrown in ! 

But Britain in those days was so busy doing 
things that we a hundred years later can scarcely 
realize them. However, so much of our historic 
perspective has been settled during the past hun- 
dred years. Perhaps in another hundred years, 
when other generations come together to commem- 
orate the efforts of these men that with Brock and 
Macdonell strove to seek and find and do and not 
to yield, the skirmish at Queenston may be viewed 
in a different light. 

Perhaps then the British Constitution will have 
bridged the oceans and the " Seven Seas " ; per- 
haps then Canada will be more British than 
Britain itself — the very core, the centre, the heart 
of the Empire in territory and population, in 
wealth and in influence, in spirit and in vital acti- 
vities. Then Queenston Heights may be regarded 

9 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

not merely as a victory that encouraged Canadians 
to fight for their homes but as a far-reaching 
world-event. 

The year of Queenston, let us remember, was the 
year of Salamanca and of Moscow — the most glori- 
ous year in British military annals. But what has 
Salamanca to do with Canada? Britain was fight- 
ing alone, not merely for the freedom of Britons but 
for the freedom of Europe. Since 1688 she had 
been for more than one-half of the one hundred and 
twenty-four years actively in arms against France. 
Since 1793 there had been peace — and only nom- 
inal peace — against France for only the two years 
following the Treaty of Amiens (1801). The gen- 
eration approaching maturity in 1812 had been 
born and had grown up " in wars and rumours of 
wars." In this struggle against France and later 
against Napoleon, the Motherland had increased 
the National Debt by £500,000,000, or nearly 
twenty-five hundred millions of dollars; she had 
spent every cent she could gather and taxed her 
posterity to this extent. That is what Britain had 
done for her children — and for the world at large ! 

But ever since Jefferson had purchased (1803) 
Louisiana from Napoleon the United States had 
found she was less dependent on Britain. Accord- 
ingly, Jefferson grew more and more unfriendly. 
And now in 1812, the world campaign of Napoleon 
had spread to America. He had hoped for this, but 
on different lines. He had planned for it, but those 
plans had failed. 

" The War of 1812-14," as we call it, was merely 
a phase, a section, of the greatest struggle in 
the history of mankind — the struggle of Britain 
against the aggrandisement and cheap ambition of 
Napoleon to become the Dictator of Europe and 
the civilized world. Brock, though invited to take 
a share in the long drawn out contest in Spain, 
decided — fortunately for us — to remain in Canada. 

The year 1812 was the climax of the war with 

10 



INTRODUCTION 

Napoleon — the most splendid, as we have said, of 
all years in British military annals. Since 1808, 
the British forces had been striving to drive the 
French from Spain. First under Sir John Moore, 
later under Wellington, inch by inch, year by year, 
they had beaten them back toward the Pyrenees. 
Then on July 22, 1812, just as Brock was strug- 
gling with all his difficulties here in Canada, there 
came Wellington's first decisive victory at Sala- 
manca. The news reached Brock in October and 
a day or two before he died he sent the tidings 
forward to Proctor — Proctor then struggling with 
his Forty-first Regiment to do as much damage as 
he could to the enemy hundreds of miles out from 
Windsor and Detroit, Proctor who was to be etern- 
ally much abused for faults he never was guilty of, 
and to be blamed for Tecumseh's death next year. 
With the news of Salamanca went Brock's pro- 
phetic comment : " I think the game nearly up in 
Spain"; and within a year the game, Napoleon's 
game, was up, not only in Spain but in all Europe. 
Within a year Leipsic had been fought and won 
and Napoleon was a wanderer on the face of the 
earth, to be gathered in and lodged on Elba. 

Meanwhile other great events were shaping. 
Just a month before Salamanca — in fact, four days 
before the United States declared war — Napoleon 
had set out on his fatal expedition against Russia. 
Two days later he crossed the Niemen. More than 
a million Frenchmen were now in arms in Europe ; 
and Britain was the only active enemy in the field. 

What wonder then that Brock, as the civil and 
military head of the Government of Upper Canada, 
should view with extreme anxiety the situation in 
the Province? He had been in Canada for ten 
years. He knew that the Motherland could not 
furnish any more men. There were fifteen hundred 
regular troops in Upper, and two thousand in 
Lower Canada. Forty years before there had not 
been a single settlement in what is now Ontario 

11 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

from the Detroit to the Ottawa, from Lake Ontario 
to Sault Ste. Marie. Now there were seventy-five 
thousand inhabitants; and under a wise Militia 
Act they had imposed yearly military service on 
themselves; every male inhabitant had to furnish 
his own gun and appear on parade or be heavily 
fined. Thus there was a volunteer force more or 
less trained amounting to about ten thousand men 
— a militia that under Brock rendered splendid 
service. 

But arms were scarce and supplies had to be 
brought long distances. The men at Queenston 
won their victory with guns that were captured 
two months before at Detroit. Throughout the 
war, when our mills had been burnt by a ruthless 
enemy that made war on women and children and 
old men, supplies were brought up the toilsome 
course of the St. Lawrence in Durham boats and 
bateaux. The devoted militia of the river counties 
guarded the frontier, and only once did they lose 
a convoy, part of which they afterwards recovered 
by a raid into the enemy's territory at Wadding- 
ton, N.Y. 

In front of Brock was a nation of eight or nine 
millions, a nation that believed they could " take 
the Canadas without soldiers;" as the United 
States Secretary of War said — " we have only to 
send officers into the Province and the people, dis- 
affected towards their own Government, will rally 
round our standard." Yet they placed, during the 
three years of the war, 527,000 men in the field and 
were defeated in thirty-two engagements. The 
odds were twenty-six to one against us. That was 
Brock's grand bequest to this land — the spirit to 
fight against odds that were at first sight positively 
overwhelming. 

For years sedition and disloyalty had been gain- 
ing ground in Upper Canada. In 1802, Colonel 
Talbot classified the inhabitants of the western 
part of the Province as ( 1 ) those enticed hither by 

12 



INTRODUCTION 

the free land grants; (2) those that had fled from 
the United States for crime; (3) Republicans anti- 
cipating that the colony would shake off its 
allegiance to Britain. Lieutenant-Colonel Ernest 
Cruikshank, who is justly regarded as the most 
eminent authority on the War of 1812-14, believes 
that in a large portion of the Province " the recent 
immigrants from the United States outnumbered 
all the other inhabitants at least two to one. Two- 
thirds of the members of the Assembly and one- 
third of the magistrates were natives of the United 
States." 

On the 28th of July, 1812, Brock called together 
the Legislature of Upper Canada. In his speech 
from the throne he stated that " a few traitors have 
already joined the enemy, have been suffered to 
come into the country with impunity, and have 
been harboured and concealed in the interior." 
The peroration should be memorized by every 
young Canadian : " We are engaged in an awful 
and eventful contest. By unanimity and despatch 
in our councils and by vigour in our operations we 
may teach the enemy this lesson, that a country 
defended by free men, enthusiastically devoted to 
their king and constitution, can never be con- 
quered." He especially desired the suspension of 
the Habeas Corpus Act and the passing of an Act 
to compel suspected persons to take an oath abjur- 
ing their allegiance to other countries. But Brock, 
to use his own words, could " get no good of them. 
They, like the magistrates and others in office, evi- 
dently mean to remain passive. The repeal of the 
Habeas Corpus will not pass, and if I have recourse 
to the law martial, I am told the whole armed 
force will disperse. Never was an officer placed 
in a more awkward predicament." 

The very next day he wrote in much the same 
spirit to Colonel Baynes : " The population, believe 
me, is essentially bad — a full belief possesses them 
all that this Province must inevitably succumb. 

13 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

This prepossession is fatal to every exertion. Leg- 
islators, magistrates, militia officers, all have 
imbibed the idea, and are so sluggish and indif- 
ferent in their respective offices that the artful and 
active scoundrel is allowed to parade the country 
without interruption and commit all imaginable 
mischief. . . . Most of the people have lost all 
confidence. I, however, speak loud and look big." 

On the same day, moreover, he reported : " The 
militia stationed here (at York) volunteered their 
services to any part of the Province without the 
least hesitation." 

Day after day his Legislature wasted their time. 
For eight days they discussed a mere party ques- 
tion of changing a clause in the School Bill. Brock 
prorogued Parliament and took the reins in his 
own hands. He declared martial law, and soon 
after three members of the Legislature, Willcocks, 
Markle, and Mallory, deserted and joined the United 
States forces. 

At once he set out on his expedition to Detroit. 
Through the wilds of Upper Canada, by lake and 
field, he led his small band of men two hundred 
miles. In nineteen days he was back again in his 
capital. He had annihilated the left wing of the 
enemy's army; he had captured two thousand five 
hundred men, thirty-seven cannon and immense 
military stores. The State of Michigan practically 
remained in our possession till the close of the war. 

A hundred years ago Brock spent the last week 
in August and the first part of October in strength- 
ening the defences on the Niagara frontier. He 
needed one thousand more regulars, but Sir George 
Prevost could not spare another man. He mounted 
new batteries with the Detroit cannon. He estab- 
lished a system of communication and the use of 
beacon lights from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, with 
a spur line inland to Pelham Heights. He refitted 
his men from the stores captured at Detroit. Cease- 
less activity and eternal vigilance were the very 

14 



INTRODUCTION 

laws of his life. The motto on his seal is said to 
have been " He who guards never sleeps." The 
legend may not be correct, but it is so appropriate 
that one likes to perpetuate the tradition. 

The United States army as a whole was attack- 
ing Canada at three points: its right wing was 
trying to force its way up the valley of the Riche- 
lieu; its left wing had been disposed of by Brock 
at Detroit ; its centre was being strengthened every 
day along the Niagara frontier. From the old 
French fort at the mouth of the Niagara River to 
the village of Buffalo there was on both sides of 
the Niagara an uninterrupted scene of fearful and 
warlike activity. The heights of Lewiston and the 
red beach below were white with the tents of nearly 
four thousand soldiers. 

From Queenston a small body of British and 
Canadian soldiers were watching and waiting. 
Then— a hundred years ago — it was much the same 
straggling village as to-day. Here the eddying, 
foaming, turbulent waters of the Niagara issue 
from the narrow, rocky gorge to spread out into a 
gentle stream and wind their way to Lake Ontario, 
seven miles distant. At the foot of the Canadian 
cliff nestles Queenston; at the foot of the sister 
cliff opposite is Lewiston in New York State. A 
hundred years ago, from the "Heights" a spec- 
tator would have seen the same glorious panorama 
of fertile fields and autumn tints; but since June 
the whole line of the Niagara River had resounded 
with din of preparations to resist a ruthless and 
aggressive invader. 

But while Brock was absent at Detroit, about 
the middle of August, Sir George Prevost, the 
British commander-in-chief, had very unwisely 
concluded an armistice with General Dearborn, 
the terms of which extended only to the right wing 
of the United States army. Accordingly, this gave 
Major-General Van Rensselaer, who was in com- 
mand of the enemy on the Niagara, a splendid 

15 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

opportunity to array still larger forces against 
Brock. Artillery and stores were brought up from 
Oswego; thousands of additional troops had been 
hurried forward to the enemy; scows and boats 
were built for the purpose of crossing the Niagara. 

" Major-General Stephen Van Rensselaer," says 
Colonel Ernest Cruikshank, the careful historian 
of the war, " who held chief command by virtue of 
his rank as major-general of the New York State 
troops, was an entire novice in all military affairs, 
and could scarcely even be termed an amateur 
soldier. The last patroon of the manor of Rens- 
selaer- Wyck and the leading Federalist in the 
State, his appointment was a sharp stroke of party 
tactics on the part of the Governor, who discovered 
in him a prospective and dangerous opponent. The 
recent congressional elections had seemed to indi- 
cate that the Federalists had regained the confi- 
dence of the people of New York, and most of their 
leaders were uncompromising in their hostility to 
the war. If Van Rensselaer accepted the command 
his immediate following would be committed to its 
prosecution; if he refused his conduct could be 
denounced as unpatriotic. 

" Stephen was an amiable and benevolent, but 
rather dull man of about fifty years of age. On 
all strictly military subjects he was compelled to 
rely upon the advice of his adjutant-general and 
cousin, Colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, who had 
been bred a soldier, had served in the United States 
army for ten years, and had held his present 
appointment for as many more. He had been 
wounded in Wayne's campaign against the 
Indians, and possessed the reputation of being a 
brave and skilful officer." 

The close observer who comes up the Niagara 
River will see just after he leaves the wharf of 
Niagara-on-the-Lake the far-extending green bas- 
tions of Fort George. A hundred years ago there 
was no barn there which a thrifty Government later 

16 



INTRODUCTION 

allowed to be built within its lines. But a hundred 
years ago this morning, on Tuesday, October 13, 
it was a fort and Brock's headquarters. For weeks 
there had been persistent rainstorms. In the dull 
grey foggy chill of the morning, about four o'clock, 
there came an alarm that the enemy were crossing 
the river at Queenston. In a few minutes, Brock 
dashed out of the fort unattended and galloped 
headlong up the river road. Macdonell, his young 
and faithful aide-de-camp, soon followed. At 
Brown's Point, two miles from Queenston, was a 
battery manned by the militia of York, among 
them such men as John Beverley Robinson and 
Archibald Maclean, both afterwards chief justices. 
As Brock passed he waved his hand to them; and 
very likely it was then he said, " Push on, brave 
York Volunteers." And as they advanced to sup- 
port their leaders there was plenty of evidence that 
the invaders had made a landing. Troops of the 
enemy were met under guard— miserable, wounded 
wretches. 

The mouth of the Niagara Gorge is barely two 
hundred yards wide; and this had been selected 
as the place at which to cross. Fifteen hundred 
United States regulars and nearly three thousand 
militia, it was hoped, could be ferried across in 
seven trips. At Queenston to oppose them there 
were merely two companies of the Forty-ninth 
(Brock's regiment) under Captain Dennis, and 
three companies of militia. In all, in and about 
Queenston there were less than two hundred men. 

In less than fifteen minutes ten boats had landed 
three hundred men, exactly as they had planned. 
When discovered by a sentinel, they were forming 
up under the command of Colonel Solomon Van 
Rensselaer. 

At once from Brown's Point, from Vrooman's 
Point, from the gun halfway up Queenston Heights, 
there belched forth an incessant fire. The Lewis- 

17 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

ton batteries opened on the village and soon 
reduced several of the houses to ruins. 

Meanwhile, Captain Dennis, with forty-six men, 
sought out the invaders at the foot of the cliff. 
Though they soon took to the cover of the trees 
and brush in disorder, many were killed, and 
Colonel Van Rensselaer himself received no less 
than six wounds. 

After dawn, however, they observed how few 
men were working the one-gun battery halfway up 
Queenston Heights. They ascended by a narrow 
fisherman's path, under the command of Lieuten- 
ant Wool, and gained the Heights unopposed. 

It was " at this instant Brock rode into the vil- 
lage, splashed with mud from head to foot. . . . 
A striking scene presented itself to his gaze. Bat- 
talion after battalion of troops in rear of the 
American batteries in readiness to embark; other 
detachments entering their boats, some already on 
the river; their guns throwing round and grape 
shot into the village, where Dennis still contrived 
to maintain a foothold " ( Cruikshank ) . 

Brock rode up the slope toward the redan half- 
way up the Heights. Prom the hillside above him 
burst a shout and down rushed an overwhelming 
body of the invaders. With barely time to spike 
the gun with a ramrod, the three officers and the 
dozen artillerymen withdrew and left the enemy in 
possession. 

Fresh troops were now landing to assist the 
invaders; and Brock was fully convinced that the 
lost position must be recovered at once. He sent 
Captain Williams with about seventy men by a 
round-about way to attack Wool's left. Seeing 
Wool's force driven in, Brock mustered a hundred 
and ninety men, including the militia flank com- 
panies. Waving his sword, he led his men up the 
steep ascent toward the battery they had lost. As 
he moved toward the right of the mountain, a bullet 
struck his sword wrist. Within fifty yards of him, 

18 



INTRODUCTION 

an Ohio rifleman stepped out from a thicket, took 
deliberate aim and fired. Shot through the left 
breast, he fell. " My fall," he murmured, " must 
not be noticed, nor impede my brave companions 
from advancing to victory." Mindful of duty, 
mindful of others, thus died Sir Isaac Brock, the 
hero of Upper Canada. 

Three days before, a grateful sovereign had 
created him a Knight of the Order of the Bath. 
Subsequent generations of Canadians placed over 
his remains the noble shaft, that from its com- 
manding position is the most notable landmark of 
the historic battleground he made famous. But he 
lives in the hearts of the people whose country he 
saved, whose fathers he inspired to resist the 
invader. He had found them a panic-stricken 
people, he left them vigorous, united, aggressive. 

The remaining incidents of that day at Queens- 
ton Heights are well known. Two hours later, 
Macdonell, Brock's military secretary and aide, 
tried to regain the one-gun battery. A fierce fight 
ensued: Macdonell, Dennis and Williams were all 
wounded; and the next day the bright young 
Scotsman, attorney-general at the age of twenty- 
seven, passed away. In life he was united with 
Brock, and in death he was not separated. The 
bodies of the two heroes rest together under the 
Queenston Monument, where the river has been 
singing their requiem for a hundred years. 

The third stage of the battle was reached at two 
o'clock in the afternoon. Then Major-General 
Roger Hale Sheaffe advanced from Fort George 
along the river road. Turning to the right down 
the little Queenston Creek, he led his forces across 
the Dr. Hamilton property. On the left he flung 
out his Indians under Norton and Brant, and they 
moved forward and made trouble. 

Ascending the escarpment west of the invading 
troops, Sheaffe came upon the terrified invaders, 
drawn up near the site of the present monument. 

19 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

Their left rested on the river verge of the cliff. A 
volley or two — and the Canadians found them 
selves embarrassed with prisoners. Within a few 
days, 958, including stragglers, had surrendered as 
prisoners of war. Among these were General Wads- 
worth, who had been in command, and Lieutenant- 
Colonel Winfleld Scott, later to become commander- 
in-chief of the United States army and conqueror of 
Mexico. 



20 



PRELIMINARY STEPS 

The desire to commemorate the centenary of 
Brock's death-day — October 13th, 1912 — took form 
at a meeting of the United Empire Loyalists' Asso- 
ciation of Canada, held at Toronto on April 11th, 
1912, when, on the motion of Mr. John Stewart 
Carstairs, B.A., a committee, consisting of Colonel 
Eyerson, Lieut. -Colonel W. Hamilton Merritt, Mr. 
J. S. Carstairs, and Mr. C. E. MacDonald, barris- 
ter, was appointed to draft a suitable programme 
for the celebration of " Brock's Day." 

This committee submitted the following report 
at a meeting of the Association held on September 
17th, 1912, Colonel Ryerson presiding: 

" Your Committee begs leave to report that as, 
within their knowledge, no action has been taken 
by either the Federal or Provincial Government to 
celebrate the Centenary of the death of Sir Isaac 
Brock on Sunday, October 13th, 1912, they recom- 
mend as follows : 

" (1) That recommendations be made to both 
the Federal Government and to the Provincial Gov- 
ernment of Ontario, that in view of the fact that 
General Brock in June, 1812, found himself at the 
head of a panic-stricken people in the presence of 
a powerful invader, and that a few months later, 
when he fell at Queenston Heights, he left that 
people united, fearless and invincible, it is believed 
that there should be a national demonstration that 
will be in effect only less impressive on the public 
mind than was the passing away of the man himself 
at Queenston Heights a hundred years ago. 

21 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

" ( 2 ) That the demonstration might take the form 
of a royal salute from every cannon in the land on 
Sunday, October 13th. This would be a matter to 
be arranged by the Minister of Militia. 

" (3) Every church in Canada might be re- 
quested to hold some sort of a memorial service 
on Sunday, October 13th. 

" (4) On Friday, October 11th, every school in 
Canada might appeal to the intellect and imagina- 
tion of the coming generation of men and women 
by appropriate commemorative exercises. 

" (5) Monday, October 14th, could be pro- 
claimed a national holiday. 

" There is, in the corridor of the Parliament 
Buildings at Toronto, the copy of a splendid por- 
trait of Brock, full of life and action. By some 
arrangement with the Minister of Education in 
every Province, or even without it, perhaps a copy 
of this picture could be placed in every school in 
the land. 

" (6) As the city of Toronto is very likely to 
expropriate the Knox College property, it might 
be well to suggest to the city authorities that this 
new park should be opened in October with proper 
ceremonies and named Brock Park. In this con- 
nection, it might be well to recall that the lower 
portion of Spadina Avenue was, until recently, 
known as Brock Street. 

" (7) It is recommended that these suggestions 
shall be brought to the attention of the Federal 
and Provincial Governments, and every means 
should be taken to convince the authorities that on 
October 13th, 1912, our people should hang some 
votive offering on the shrine of the hero of Upper 
Canada. 

" (8) That copies of this report be sent to the 
National Council of Women and to the Secretary 
of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the 
Empire inviting their concurrence. 

" J. S. Carstairs, Chairman." 
22 



PRELIMINARY STEPS 

This Report was adopted tentatively, and in 
order to secure as wide as possible a co-operation 
from other patriotic Associations, it was agreed, 
on the motion of Colonel Denison, seconded by Mr. 
C. E. Macdonald, that the Centenary of Sir Isaac 
Brock's death, Sunday, October 13th, 1912, be 
commemorated by an excursion to Queenston 
Heights on the 12th, and that patriotic and his- 
torical societies, clubs and regiments, etc., be asked 
to send not more than three delegates to a meeting 
to be held on Wednesday, September 25th, at 4.30 
o'clock, in the Canadian Foresters' Building, to 
discuss a plan of commemoration. 

In accordance with this resolution the following 
societies were circularized, and asked to co-operate 
in the celebration: 

Societies: British Empire League; Caledonian 
Society; Canadian Club; Canadian Defence 
League; Daughters of the Empire, Niagara Falls, 
Ont,; Daughters of the Empire, St. Catharines; 
Empire Club; Historical Society, Niagara Falls, 
Ont. ; Historical Society, Niagara-on-the-Lake ; 
Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire; Irish 
Protestant and Benevolent Society, Toronto; 
Lundy's Lane Historical Society, Niagara Falls, 
Ont.; Ontario Historical Society; St. Andrew's 
Society, Toronto; St. Catharines' Historical Soci- 
ety; St. George's Society, Toronto; Sons of Eng- 
land, Toronto; Sons of Scotland Benevolent Asso- 
ciation, Toronto; Women's Canadian Historical 
Society, Toronto ; Women's Canadian Club, To- 
ronto; Women's Historical Society, Hamilton; 
Women's Institute, Queenston; Women's Institute, 
Stamford; York Pioneers' Association. 

Military: Brig.-General W. H. Cotton, Officer 
Commanding 2nd Division; Canadian Army Medi- 
cal Corps, Permanent Army Medical Corps, Per- 
manent Army Service Corps, Royal Canadian 
Dragoons, Royal Canadian Engineers, Royal Cana- 
dian Regiment. 

23 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

Artillery: 2nd Brigade Canadian Field Artil- 
lery, 9th Battery Canadian Field Artillery. 

Cavalry: Governor-General's Body Guard, 9th 
Mississauga Horse. 

Infantry: " Queen's Own " Rifles, 10th Regi- 
ment Royal Grenadiers, 12th Regiment York 
Rangers, 48th Battalion Highlanders. 

Military Associations, Etc.: Canadian Military 
Institute, Her Majesty's Army and Navy Veterans, 
Imperial South African Service Association, Vet- 
erans of '66 Association, Veterans of '85 Associa- 
tion, Wolseley Red River Expedition Association, 
1870. 



24 



GENERAL COMMITTEE FORMED 

In response to the invitation above referred to, 
societies and regiments appointed the following 
delegates to represent them on the General Com- 
mittee : — 

United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada : 
Colonel G. Sterling Ryerson, President; Colonel 
G. T. Denison, Lieut-Colonel George A. Shaw, Mr. 
R. E. A. Land, Vice-Presidents; Mr. J. Stewart 
Carstairs, Honorary Secretary; Miss Helen M. 
Merrill, Honorary Assistant Secretary; Mr. A. R. 
Davis, Honorary Treasurer; Mr. C. E. Macdonald, 
Miss Catharine Merritt, Mr. R. S. Neville, K.C., 
Captain Victor Hall, Miss O. V. Widner, Mrs. 
F. O. Loft, Mrs. Edmund Phillips, Mrs. Dignam, 
Toronto. 

Six Nations Indians (United Empire Loyalists) : 
Warrior F. O. Loft, Mr. Allen W. Johnson. 

British Empire League: Colonel G. T. Denison, 
Toronto. 

Canadian Club : Dr. A. H. U. Colquhoun, Presi- 
dent; Mr. F. D. L. Smith, Toronto. 

Canadian Defence League: Colonel Fothering- 
ham, Dr. J. L. Hughes, Mr. R. E. Kingsford, 
Toronto. 

Empire Club: Mr. J. Castell Hopkins, Dr. E. K. 
Richardson, Toronto. 

Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire: Mrs. 
A. E. Gooderham, Mrs. E. F. B. Johnstone, Mrs. 
John Bruce, Miss Constance Boulton, Toronto. 

Sons of Scotland: Dr. Alexander Fraser, Dr. 
John Ferguson, Toronto. 

25 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

St. George's Society, Toronto: John W. Gamble 
Boyd. 

Lundy's Lane Historical Association: Mr. J. 
Jackson, Superintendent Queen Victoria Park, 
Secretary, Niagara Falls, Ont. 

Niagara Historical Society: Miss Janet Carno- 
chan, Niagara-on-the-Lake ; Mrs. Elizabeth Thomp- 
son, Mrs. Charles Lewis Shaw, Toronto. 

Ontario Historical Society: Dr. Alexander 
Fraser, Secretary, Toronto. 

Women's Canadian Historical Society, Toronto: 
Miss M. Agnes FitzGibbon, Toronto. 

Women's Went worth Historical Society: Mrs. 
John Calder, Hamilton, President. 

Governor-General's Body Guard: Lieut. -Colonel 
Frank A. Fleming, W. E. L. Coleman, Toronto. 

12th Regiment: Major Curran, Toronto. 

48th Highlanders: Captain Darling, Adjutant. 

'66 Veterans' Association : Captain Geo. Musson, 
P. E. Noverre, David Creighton, Lieut.-Colonel 
A. E. Belcher, Lieut.-Colonel Geo. A. Shaw, 
Toronto. 

'85 Veterans' Association: Sergeant A. G. Scovell, 
Toronto. 

PROGRAMME ADOPTED 

The first meeting of the General Committee thus 
formed was held on September 25th, 1912, in the 
Canadian Foresters' Building, College Street, 
Toronto. There was a large attendance of members. 

Colonel Ryerson was appointed Chairman, and 
Miss Helen M. Merrill Secretary, of the Commit- 
tee. The report from the United Empire Loyalist 
Association of Canada, as given above, having been 
read to the meeting, resolutions to the following 
effect were passed : 

(1) That Brock's Day be celebrated by a public 
gathering at Queenston Heights. 

26 



GENERAL COMMITTEE FORMED 

(2) That the various patriotic and historical 
societies, local as well as those within easy reach 
of Queenston, be invited to send as large delega- 
tions as possible to Brock's Monument on Satur- 
day, October 12th, 1912, in commemoration of his 
death. , 

(3) That the various patriotic and historical 
societies be asked to send wreaths for the purpose 
of decorating Brock's Monument on October 12th. 

(4) That a special invitation be sent to Mr. J. A. 
Macdonell, K.C., Alexandria, Ont., to attend the 
celebration as the direct representative of Colonel 
John Macdonell, the Attorney-General of Upper 
Canada, and Brock's Provincial A.D.C., who fell 
with his leader, and whose remains rest beneath 
the monument on Queenston Heights. 

(5) That the Honourable the Minister of Militia 
be asked to order that salutes be fired on October 
12th from all saluting points in Canada. 

(6) That the churches be asked to arrange that 
memorial sermons be preached throughout Canada 
on Sunday, October 13th. 

(7) That suitable exercises relating to Brock 
and 1812 should be held in every school in Canada ; 
and that this suggestion be not only given pub- 
licity through the newspapers, but that the atten- 
tion of the various Ministers of Education in the 
Dominion be specially drawn to it. 

(8) That the Superintendent-General of Indian 
Affairs at Ottawa be asked to take measures to 
have the history of Brock and the events of the 
1812 war brought specially before the children in 
all Indian Schools under the charge of the Domin- 
ion Government, 

(9) That a wreath be placed on the picture of 
Brock in the Parliament Buildings, Toronto. 

(10) That it be suggested to the Dominion Gov- 
ernment to place a wreath on Brock's Monument 
in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, England. 

27 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

An Executive Committee was appointed to fur- 
ther these resolutions, consisting of the members 
of the following special committees: — 

Travelling Arrangements, etc.: Colonel Ryerson, 
Dr. James L. Hughes, Mr. J. S. Carstairs and Mr. 
C. E. Macdonald. 

Press: Mr. J. Castell Hopkins, Dr. Alexander 
Fraser, Mr. F. D. L. Smith, Miss Helen M. Merrill. 

Chairman and Secretary of the Executive Com- 
mittee : Colonel Ryerson and Miss Helen M. Merrill. 



28 











Miss Helen M. Merrill, Honorary Secretary Colonel Georgre S. Ryerson, Chairman. 

James L. Hughes. LL.D. J Castell Hopkins. J. Stewart Carstairs. B.A. 

Charles E Macdonald, Esq. Alexander Eraser, LL.D. F. D. L. Smith. Esq. 



EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. 



REPORTS OF COMMITTEES 



The General Committee met on October 2nd, 
1912, Colonel Eyerson presiding. The reports of 
the special committees regarding the arrangements 
were very satisfactory, and it was made abund- 
antly clear that the proposed celebration had 
touched a tender chord of public feeling. Travel- 
ling arrangements by train to Niagara Falls and 
by electric car thence to Queenston Heights were 
approved of. The co-operation of the Women's 
Institute, Queenston, was promised in connection 
with the decoration of the grounds there; the 
Ontario Government consented to police the 
grounds, and the Victoria Park Commission to 
reopen the restaurant at the Heights for the day. 
It was agreed to advise the hotels at Niagara Falls, 
Ont., that luncheon would be taken at that town 
on arrival of the train, and to arrange with the 
electric railway for the conveyance of the visitors 
to the Monument. The publicity so generously 
afforded by the press was gratefully acknowledged. 
A letter from Mr. J. A. Macdonell, K.C., Alex- 
andria, accepting the Committee's invitation, was 
read; and a motion by Mr. F. D. L. Smith that a 
bronze tablet to mark the centenary celebration 
be placed on Brock's Monument was deferred for 
consideration at the next meeting to be held on the 
week following. 

At the meeting of the General Committee held 
on October 9th in the Canadian Foresters' Hall, 
Toronto, Colonel Eyerson presiding, the following 
report of the Executive Committee was received 
and adopted: — 



BKOCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

" The Executive Committee met on October 7th 
and received satisfactory reports of the pro- 
gress made in carrying out the proposals of the 
General Committee. A programme for the cele- 
bration at Queenston Heights was drafted, and the 
President was requested to arrange with the 
Department of Militia that the permanent forces 
be sent from Toronto to Queenston Heights to take 
part in the proceedings. It was also resolved to 
publish an account of the proceedings in connec- 
tion with the celebration as an interesting record 
of a notable event." 

The Executive also reported that all arrange- 
ments had been completed for the journey to 
Queenston Heights; that the Militia Department 
had ordered that salutes be fired from all saluting 
points in Canada on the 12th inst. ; that commem- 
orative church services would be extensively held 
on the 13th inst.; that special exercises would be 
observed in the public schools in accordance with 
letters received from the Honourable R. A. Pyne, 
M.P.P., Minister of Education for Ontario, Mr. 
Augustus W. Ball, Deputy Minister of Education, 
Saskatchewan, Mr. Alexander Robinson, Superin- 
tendent of Education, British Columbia, and from 
Mr. R. Fletcher, Deputy Minister of Education, 
Manitoba; that a detachment from the permanent 
infantry force at Toronto would proceed to Queens- 
ton Heights on the 12th inst.; that the Toronto, 
Hamilton and other corps of militia would be 
represented, and that large delegations from patri- 
otic, national and historical societies would take 
part; that many wreaths would be sent to the 
monument; that the Dominion Government had 
ordered its representative in London, England, to 
place a wreath on Brock's Memorial in St. Paul's 
Cathedral; and that letters from prominent public 
men had been received, either regretting their 
inability to take part or accepting the invitations 
to be present. 

30 



REPORTS OF COMMITTEES 

This being the last meeting of the General Com- 
mittee, it was agreed to refer the suggestion that 
a bronze centennial tablet be placed on Brock's 
Monument, the striking of a Centennial medal, 
and all business connected with the celebration 
ceremonies, or arising therefrom, to the Executive 
Committee, with full power to dispose of the same. 

The meeting then adjourned sine die. 



31 



CELEBRATING THE DAY 

It had been decided to travel by the Grand Trunk 
Railway train leaving Toronto at nine o'clock a.m. 
(a few only going by steamer from Yonge Street 
wharf). The unsettled, rainy weather of the two 
previous days had caused some misgiving as to the 
number of people who might venture on an open 
air demonstration on a cold October day, and the 
grey looming skies at dawn on Saturday, the 12th, 
held no hidden hope of a silver lining. The 
enthusiasm awakened by the name of Brock, how- 
ever, was resistless, and betimes the seats in the 
waiting train were crowded. The Union Station 
witnessed a lively scene — the soldiers in bright 
colours, the ladies and gentlemen in gay humour, 
and the stirring music of the bagpipes, combining 
to enliven and mark the unusual character of the 
occasion. 

At Hamilton a number of friends joined the 
party, and others who could not do so came to the 
railway station to express their good wishes. St. 
Catharines also gave its contingent. Niagara Falls 
was safely reached at 11.45 o'clock. 

Shortly afterwards Major Gordon J. Smith, 
Brantford, Superintendent of the Six Nation 
Indians, and a fine delegation arrived, and 
luncheon was served at several of the hotels. 

The journey was resumed by electric cars, the 
large company arriving at Queenston Heights in 
the course of an hour. 

During the forenoon the sky had cleared, and 
now the sun shone out brightly for a space on a 

32 




H a 

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3 

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o 

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GO 

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w 

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CELEBRATING THE DAY 

landscape unsurpassed anywhere for spacious 
magnificence and scenic beauty. And crowning 
the domed escarpment the stately column spoke 
forth a people's patriotism and love, a memorial 
to the brave, the scene harmonizing with the 
feelings of the great gathering. 



33 



/ 



AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS 

About two thousand people gathered at the foot 
of the Monument. Colonel G. Sterling Ryerson, 
President of the General Committee and of the 
U. E. L. Association, presided. Among those 
present were the Hon. R. A. Pyne, M.P.P., Minis- 
ter of Education for Ontario, and Mrs. Pyne; 
A. Claude Macdonell, M.P., Toronto; W. M. Ger- 
man, M.P., Welland; Colonel George T. Denison 
(U. E. L. and British Empire League) ; J. A. Mac- 
donell, K.C., Glengarry; A. MacLean Macdonell, 
K.C. (representatives of Colonel the Hon. John 
Macdonell, Provincial A.D.C. to General Brock) ; 
Dr. Alexander Dame (a relative of Hon. Colonel 
John Macdonell) ; James L. Hughes, LL.D. (Cana- 
dian Defence League) ; Doctor Jessop, M.P.P., St. 
Catharines; Mr. Evan Fraser, M.P.P., Niagara 
Falls, Ont. ; Alexander Fraser, LL.D. (Ontario 
Historical Society, St. Andrew's Society, and 
S.O.S. Association); Mr. F. D. W. Smith (Cana- 
dian Club, Toronto) ; J. Castell Hopkins (Empire 
Club, Toronto) ; Mjss Helen M. Merrill (Honor- 
ary Secretary, Brock Centenary, and U. E. L.); 
Miss C. Macdonell ; Miss Kate Fraser, Toronto ; Mr. 
John Stewart Carstairs, B.A. (Honorary Secre- 
tary, U. E. L. Association of Canada) ; Mr. Charles 
E. Macdonald, barrister, Toronto ( Honorary Coun- 
sellor, U. E. L. Association of Canada) ; Chas. R. 
McCullough, Hamilton ( Union of Canadian Clubs ) . 

Royal Canadian College, Kingston: Colonel 
J. H. V. Crowe, Commandant. 

Royal Canadian Regiment : Captain J. F. Brown 
(in command), Lieutenant J. W. Cox, and sixty- 
eight non-coms, and men. 

34 




BROCK'S MONUMENT, QUEENSTON HEIGHTS. 

—From Nursey's " Story of Isaac Brock" (Briggs). 



AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS 

Governor-General's Body Guard: Lieut.-Colonel 
Frank A. Fleming, officer commanding; Lieuten- 
ant A. D. Kirkpatrick; A. M. Stretton, Sergt.- 
Major, W. O. ; S.Q.M.S. W. E. Borlace, Sergeant E. 
Pelletier, Mr. W. E. L. Coleman, Robt. D. Cox, 
Q.M. Sgt., 1st Cavalry Brigade; Corporal Worsick, 
Corporal Douglas; Troopers G. L. Collins, E. 
Lightbody, Sewell, Thos. Preston, G. W. C. Clarke, 
John S. Kilpatrick, W. Lennox, W. Hill, S. Norse. 

9th Mississauga Horse. 

St. Catharines Field Battery: Colonel F. King, 
Lieut.-Colonel Campbell. 

Canadian Engineers. 

2nd Regt. Q.O.R., Toronto: Sergeant-Major Geo. 
Creighton, Sergeants J. I. Matthews, A. G. Scovell, 
R. F. Reed, W. F. Meaforth, Forsyth, Scott; George 
Sanderson, E. R. Fitzgerald, retired, New West- 
minster, B.C., and others. 

10th Regt., " Royal Grenadiers," Toronto : 
Edward Johnston, Geo. H. Briggs, Robert Hazel- 
ton, and seventeen men under Captain Campbell. 

12th Regt., " York Rangers " : Major Curran. 

13th Regt., Hamilton: Lieut.-Colonel Moore, 
Bt. Lieut.-Colonel Ross, CO., Major Lester. 

19th Regt., St. Catharines : Lieut.-Colonel W. W. 
Burleigh and others. 

22nd Regt., " Oxford Rifles." 

36th " Peel " Regt. : Royal Grafton, Ensign. 

48th Regt., "Highlanders," Toronto: Lieut.- 
Colonel W. Hendrie, Major J. A. Currie, and 
thirty-two non-com. officers and men in charge of 
Sergeant Cameron. 

91st Regt., Canadian Highlanders, Hamilton: 
Lieut.-Colonel John J. Maclaren and others. 

York and Simcoe Battalion, Toronto: Corporal 
Thos. Laird, N.W.F.F., 1885. 

North- West Mounted Police: J. W. Scott. 

35 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

Ridley College Cadets and Bugle Band. 

'66 Veterans' Association: P. E. Noverre, Presi- 
dent; Captain John A. Macdonald, '70; Colonel 
Belcher; Major J. Beck, 33rd Huron Regt. ; Cap- 
tain Geo. Musson, John Robinson, Walter R. Nur- 
sey; Captain John Ford (Chicago Volunteers), 
Past-President; Andrew K. Lauder, Captain F. H. 
McCallum, A. E. Wheeler. 

Niagara District Veteran Volunteers' Associa- 
tion, St. Catharines: Jamieson Black, President; 
C. Chapman, Past-President; Robt. J. Black, Vice- 
President; W. H. Drysdale, Treasurer; J. Albert 
Mills, Secretary ; George Wilson. 

His Majesty's Army and Navy Veterans' Associa- 
tion : Mr. C. H. Robertson. 

Canadian Militia Veterans: Captain W. Fahey, 
President. 

Canadian Baden- Powell Boy Scouts: Ed. Nix, 
J. Gordon Rosser, Toronto. 

United Empire Loyalist Association of Canada: 
Major W. Napier Keefer, Past-President; Mr. 
R. E. A. Land, Vice-President; Rev. Canon Alex. 
W. Macnab, Honorary Chaplain, and Mrs. Macnab ; 
Mr. E. M. Chadwick, K.C., Honorary Genealogist; 
Mr. A. R. Davis, Honorary Treasurer; Mrs. 
/ Edwards Merrill, Miss Emily Merritt, Miss Cath- 
arine Merritt, Miss Laura Clarke, Captain G. S. 
Ryerson, Miss Laura Ryerson, Miss Flora Powel, 
Miss J. J. MacCallum (descendant of Laura 
Secord), Miss Henrietta Loft, Miss Affa Loft, 
Major J. G. Beam (retired, 44th Batt), Captain 
M. S. Boehm (30th Regt.), Mrs. Birdsall (descend- 
ant of Laura Secord ) , Niagara Falls. 

Council of the Six Nations Indians, Oshwegam 
Brant County (United Empire Loyalists) : Mr. 
Gordon J. Smith (Honorary Chief, De-ha-ka-res, 
Bear Clan, Mohawk Tribe), Superintendent, 
Brantford; Chief Josiah Hill ( Sa-ko-ka-ryes, Wolf 
Clan), Secretary; Chief William Smith, Interpre- 

36 




CENTRAL SECTION OF A PANORAMIC PICTURE OF THE GATHERING 
AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS. 



AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS 

ter) ; Chief J. C. Martin, Speaker; Chief J. S. 
Johnson ( Ka-nen-kwe-yah ) , Deputy Speaker; 
Chief J. W. M. Elliott (Mohawk) ; Chief A. G. 
Smith ( De-ka-nen-ra-neh, Bear Clan, Mohawk) ; 
Chief Elias Lewis ( De-ka-ri-ho-gen, Turtle Clan, 
Mohawk) ; Chief Abraham Lewis (Ah-yon-wah-ehs, 
Turtle Clan, Mohawk) ; Chief John A. Gibson 
( Seneca ) ; Chief Peter Isaac ( Mudturtle Clan, 
Seneca) ; Chief Alexander Hill (Ot-go-taw-yen- 
toun, Deer Clan, Onondaga), Fire Keeper; Chief 
Lawrence Jonathan ( Sha-ko-ken-he, Eel Clan, 
Onondaga), Fire Keeper; Chief David Jamieson 
(Cayuga) ; Chief Jacob Isaac ( Hon-wa-sha-de-hon, 
Oneida) ; Chief Joseph Powless ( Ha-dya-dho-nen- 
ta, Wolf Clan, Oneida) ; Chief Richard Hill (Ra- 
rih-whi-tyen-tah, Wolf Clan, Tuscarora) ; Chief 
Elias Carrier (Tuscarora) ; Warrior Frederick O. 
Loft and Mr. Allen W. Johnson, Toronto, Dele- 
gates to Brock Centenary Committee) ; Chief 
Isaiah Sickles ( Da-Da-hon-den-wen, Bear Clan, 
Oneida) ; Warrior George Aaron; Daniel McNugh- 
ton (Ha-don-da-he-ha) ; Dennis Palmerston (Tus- 
carora, American Indian). 

Canadian Club, Toronto : Mr. James M. Sinclair, 
Mr. W. J. Clarke, G. Frank Beer, P. H. Jennings, 
J. R. Collins. 

Empire Club, Toronto: Mr. Fred B. Fetherston- 
haugh, K.C., President; Mr. Richard A. Stapells, 
First Vice-President. 

British Empire League, Toronto Branch : James 
P. Murray. 

Sons of Scotland, Toronto: Dr. John Ferguson, 
Mr. Evan Hugh Fraser, representing Camp Alex- 
ander Fraser, S.O.S., Toronto. 

St. Andrew's Society, Toronto : Captain Herbert 
M. Mowat, K.C., U.E.L., Vice-President ; Mr. James 
Murray, Manager; Mr. T. C. Irving, Manager; Mr. 
J. P. Martin, Robert Farquharson. 

37 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

St. George's Society, Toronto: Mr. John W. 
Gamble Boyd. 

Centre and South Toronto Liberal Conservative 
Association: Mr. Arthur VanKoughnet; Women's 
Branch, Mrs. Arthur VanKoughnet. 

York Pioneers' Historical Society, Toronto: 
Daniel Lamb, President; John W. Millar, Secre- 
tary; John Harvie, J. G. Hughes, Wm. Crocker, 
J. C. Moor, J. Hawley, E. Gegg, Josiah Rogers, 
John F. Ellis, A. E. Wheeler, W. D. Mcintosh, 
W. J. Adams. 

Knights of Malta and the Grand Chapter of 
Ladies of Justice, Toronto : Mr. R. E. A. Land, Mr. 
A. G. Horwood, Mrs. A. G. Horwood. 

British Women's Society: Miss Perkins. 

Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, 
Toronto : Mrs. A. E. Gooderham, Mrs. John Bruce, 
Mrs. E. F. B. Johnstone, Miss Constance Boulton, 
Mrs. E. Humphreys, Mrs. Wm. Humphreys, Mrs. 
E. A. James, Miss Laura Brodigan, Miss Watson, 
Miss Maud Watson. 

Women's Canadian Historical Society, Toronto: 
Miss M. Agnes FitzGibbon, Miss Mickle, Mrs. 
Kearn, Mrs. Campbell Meyers, Miss Clara Port, 
Miss J. J. MacCallum. 

Brant Historical Society, Brantford: His Hon- 
our Judge Hardy, Honorary President; Mr. S. F. 
Passmore, President; Miss Isabella Gilkison, Mr. 
T. W. Standing, Vice-Presidents; Mrs. J. Y. 
Brown, Secretary; Major H. F. Leonard, Curator; 
Mr. J. J. Hawkins. 

Lundy's Lane Historical Association, Niagara 
Falls: Mr. J. Jackson, Secretary. 

Thorold and Beaver Dams Historical Society: 
T. H. Thompson, President; Miss Amy Ball. 

Niagara Historical Society, Niagara-on-the- 
Lake : Miss Janet Carnochan, President ; Rev. J. C. 
Garrett, Mrs. J. C. Garrett, Mrs. Ascher, Mrs. 

38 




FLORAL TRIBUTE PLACED ON CENOTAPH, WHERE BROCK FELL. 
BY THE GUERNSEY SOCIETY, TORONTO. 




G. J. Birney. Sgt. John I. Matthews. Q. O. R. 

Dr. Chas. F. Durand. J. L Birney, Sgt. -Major Geo. Creighton, Q. O. R 

BROCK CENTENARY CELEBRATION AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS. 



AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS 

T. F. Best, Miss M. Ball, Mrs. Bottomley, Miss 
Creed, J. Eckersley, H. Macklem, Mrs. Macklem, 
Wm. Ryan, J. deW. Randall, Mrs. Randall, E. H 
Shepherd, Mrs. Shepherd, Miss C. Waters, F Win- 
throp, Mrs. Winthrop, Niagara; R. Field, Miss 
E. L. Lowery, Mrs. H. Usher, Queenston; Miss 
Amy Ball, Thorold; Miss S. Crysler, Niagara 
Falls; J. C. Ball, C. A. Case, St. Catharines; J. S. 
Carstairs, A. J. Clark, Miss E. Long, Mrs. Charles 
Lewis Shaw, Miss Annie Clark, Mr. G. J. Clark 
Toronto. 

Women's Wentworth Historical Society, Hamil- 
ton : Mrs. John Calder, Miss Calder. 

Canadian Club, Hamilton: Mr. C. E. Kelly, 
President; G. D. Cadeaur, Secretary; Mr. Harry d' 
Petrie. 

Women's Canadian Club, Hamilton : Mrs Harrv 
D. Petrie. J 

Women's Institute, Queenston : Mrs. A. A Ram- 
say. 

Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, Ham- 
ilton : Mrs. Harry D. Petrie, Miss B. Gaviller. 

St. George's Society, London : Mr. N. F. Willmot. 

St. George's Society, Guelph: Mr. H. J. B. Lead- 
lay. 

Canadian Business Women's Club, Toronto: 
Miss H. Williamson, Miss Winnifred Macdonald, 
Miss Effie Telfer, Mrs. Anna Fox. 

Others present were : Mrs. (Col.) William 
Hendrie, Hamilton; D. Macgregor Whyte, artist, 
Oban, Scotland; Lieutenant-Colonel Fred W 
Macqueen, Toronto; Wm. Rea, Mrs. Rea, nee Jane 
Thomas, daughter of Mr. James Thomas, who was 
one of the contractors for the erection of Brock's 
Monument, and resided at Queenston during the 
entire time the Monument was being erected ; Rev. 
S. A. Laidlaw, Ridgeway; Mr. W. H. Banfield, Mr. 
Benj. P. McKay, Mr. H. E. Wilmot, Mr. Samuel 
OBryen, Miss F. May Simpson, Miss Marjorie 

39 



BKOCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

FitzGibbon, Miss Perkins, Miss Lulu Crowther, 
Mr. William Moss, Miss J. E. Douglas, Mr. H. B. 
Adams, Miss D. F. Waite, Miss Helen J. Sturrock, 
Mr. James Young, Mr. John Hawley, Mrs. Rees, 
Miss Amelia Rees, Gonnie Rees, A.T.C.M., Toronto ; 
Mr. Fred Landon, Press Gallery, Ottawa; Mayor 
J. deW. Randall, Niagara-on-the-Lake ; Mrs. A. 
Servos, Miss Mary Servos, St. Catharines; Mrs. 
Redhead, Miss Oliver, Niagara; Win. Milliken, 
Toronto, and Dr. Campbell Meyers, Toronto. 

The stirring interest taken by the public in the 
celebration was in no way made more apparent 
than by the large number of costly and beautiful 
floral offerings sent to decorate the monument. 
Immediately on assembling on the Heights, these 
expressive tributes were formally received, one by 
one, by Colonel Ryerson. The names of the givers 
were announced by Mr. Chas. E. Macdonald, who 
also read out the patriotic mottoes and inscrip- 
tions. The wreaths were then carefully placed on 
the monument, and so numerous were they that 
they almost covered its huge base. The luxuriant 
ivy growing on the lower masonry was richly tinted 
with autumnal bronze, and on the natural back- 
ground thus unexpectedly provided, the delighted 
celebrators worked out an effective colour scheme. 
It has not been possible to obtain a complete list 
of those who brought wreaths with them, but the 
following were noted : 

A magnificent Cross of St. George, made of oak 
leaves, from the Guernsey Society of Guernsey 
Island, Brock's birthplace, was placed on the ceno- 
taph which marks the place where Brock fell, by 
Mr. J. L. Burney, whose father was a lieutenant 
under Brock and was by his side when the General 
was fatally stricken. 

J. A. Macdonell, K.C., Glengarry, A. McLean 
Macdonell, K.C., Toronto, and Angus Claude Mac- 
donell, K.C., M.P., Toronto, as representatives of 
the family of Colonel the Honourable John Mac- 

40 





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AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS 

donell, General Brock's aide-de-camp and military 
secretary, placed on the monument two handsome 
wreaths of laurel leaves, decorated with white and 
pink heather and heavily trimmed with purple, one 
to the memory of Brock, and one, with the motto 
" From Kith and Kin," to the memory of their 
kinsman, Colonel Macdonell. 

Colonel George T. Denison placed a wreath from 
the British Empire League (England), he being 
the President of the Canadian branch. 

Mr. J. Murray McCheyne Clark, K.C., LL.B., 
Toronto, sent a wreath on behalf of the Toronto 
branch of the British Empire League, of which he 
is the President. 

Wreaths were sent by the Canadian Club, 
Toronto; the Canadian Club, Hamilton; the Caro- 
line School pupils, Hamilton; Centre and South 
Toronto Conservative Club, Ladies' Branch; Gov- 
ernor-General's Body Guard, Toronto; 91st Regi- 
ment Canadian Highlanders, Hamilton; Imperial 
Order Daughters of the Empire, Toronto ; Imperial 
Order Daughters of the Empire, Hamilton; Chap- 
ter General of Canada Knights of Malta and the 
Grand Chapter of Ladies of Justice, Toronto. 

Mrs. Fessenden, as founder of Empire Day, sent 
a sheaf of crimson carnations tied with the national 
colours. To this was attached, with a League of 
the Empire brooch, a card bearing this inscription 
from Palgrave: 

" If the day of a nation's weakness rise, 

Of the little counsels that dare not dare, 
Of a laud that no more on herself relies, — 
O breathe of the great ones that were, 
Burn out this taint in the air ! 
The old heart of England restore, 
Till the blood of heroes awake and cry on her 
bosom once more." 

Lundy's Lane Historical Society, Niagara Falls, 
Ont. ; 9th Mississauga Horse ; Niagara District Vet- 

41 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

eran Volunteers' Association, St. Catharines — Mr. 
Jamieson Black, as President, placed a wreath on 
the grave as a tribute from St. Catharines. For 
many years this Association has placed a wreath 
at the foot of the tomb of Brock at their annual 
outing at Queenston Heights. 

Niagara Falls City, Ontario, Mayor and Alder- 
men; Niagara Historical Society, Niagara-on-the- 
Lake; Niagara Public Schools; Ontario Histori- 
cal Society; St. Andrew's Society, Toronto; St. 
George's Society, Toronto; St. George's Society, 
Hamilton; Sons of Scotland Benevolent Associa- 
tion; Sons of Scotland, Camp "Alexander Fraser"; 
Six Nations Indians (Oshwegan), Brantford; 
United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, 
Toronto; Upper Canada Old Boys' Association, 
Toronto; Welland County Teachers' Association; 
Women's Canadian Historical Society, Toronto — 
Wreath of scarlet gladioli and carnations tied with 
scarlet and green, the colors of the Society, the 
motto in gold on a green band : " Deeds Speak " ; 
Women's Wentworth Historical Society, Hamilton. 

Miss Ball, granddaughter of Captain John Clem- 
ent Ball, carried a lithograph of the battle scene 
(Queenston Heights) made in 1813 from a sketch 
by Major Dennis as he lay wounded on the field, 
October 13th, 1812. 

In addition to the wreath placed on the monu- 
ment the United Empire Loyalists hung a wreath 
on the portrait of General Brock in the Parliament 
Buildings, Toronto. 

The scene presented was unique, and in many 
respects a remarkable one. Not the least striking 
feature was the character of the gathering. 
Descendants of soldiers who fought with Brock 
were there, some of them carrying the burden of 
years, some barely out of childhood's leash. Others, 
and scarcely less interested in the proceedings, 
represented loyal and patriotic societies, widely 
spread over the Province. The Indian contingent 

42 




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AT QUEENSTON HEIGHTS 

from the Six Nations occupied a conspicuous place 
of honour most worthily, their presence recalling 
the signal service rendered by their brave fore- 
fathers at Queenston Heights and in the campaign 
generally. The military detachments added colour 
to the animated scene. The men of the Royal Cana- 
dian Regiment, of the Governor-General's Body 
Guard, of the Forty-eighth Highlanders, the 
Queen's Own, the Royal Grenadiers, the Missis- 
sauga Horse, the Ridley College Cadets, and of 
other corps, were drawn up on the outside of the 
crowd, and beyond them, on the escarpment, the 
St. Catharines' Battery, Field Artillery, was sta- 
tioned. Over all floated the Union Jack. 
/ An incident of the gathering in which much inter- 
/ est was shown was the unfurling of an old, historic 
Union Jack from the top of Brock's Monument by 
Miss Helen M. Merrill, Secretary of the Committee. 
When the first monument erected to Brock at 
Queenston was destroyed (17th April, 1840) a 
great indignation meeting was held on the 
Heights. Among those present was a British 
sailor from one of the ships that conveyed the 
Toronto people to the meeting. He had brought 
with him a Union Jack, and climbing to the top 
of the broken shaft, waved it aloft, amid the cheers 
of the assembled patriots. The flag was pre- 
served, and Mr. Comer, Kingston, Ont., readily 
loaned it for this special occasion. Accompanying- 
Miss Merrill to the top of the monument with the 
flag were Misses Marjorie FitzGibbon and Laura 
Brodigan and Mr. Allen W. Johnson (ShK* 
Nations). jt 

Several relics of the War of 1812-14 were^sftown 
by their possessors, who held them sacred, among 
them a Union Jack, carried by Chief Paudash 
(Johnson) of the Mississauga Indians, from the 
Ontario Archives Department; early sketches of 
the Queenston battlefield, and pictures of officers 
who took part in the war. 

43 



BEOCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

At the close of the speeches the Six Nation 
Indians present formed a Council, and, in recogni- 
tion of her services as Honorary Secretary of the 
Celebration Committee, conferred on Miss Helen M. 
Merrill the honour of tribal membership by the 
name " Kah-ya-tonhs "^one who keeps records. 

The wreaths having been placed, the programme 
of the day was opened by the firing of a general 
salute by the 7th St. Catharines Field Battery of 
the Royal Canadian Artillery. This was followed 
by the playing of a lament for the dead by the 
pipers of the Forty-eighth Highlanders and Pipe- 
Major Dunbar, piper to Lieut.-Colonel William 
Hendrie, of Hamilton. 

Letters expressing regret for inability to be 
present were read by Colonel Ryerson from the 
following gentlemen: The Right Honourable R. L. 
Borden, M.P., Prime Minister of Canada; His 
Honour Sir John M. Gibson, K.C.M.G., Lieutenant- 
Governor of Ontario; Colonel the Honourable 
Samuel Hughes, M.P., Minister of Militia, Ottawa; 
the Honourable Sir James P. Whitney, Prime Min- 
ister of Ontario; Major-General C. J. Mackenzie, 
C.B., C.G.S., Ottawa; Major-General W. D. Otter, 
C.V.O., C.B.; Major-General D. A. Macdonald, 
C.M.G., Ottawa; Brig.-General F. L. Lessard, C.B. ; 
Colonel R. W. Rutherford, M.G.O. ; Dr. R. A. Fal- 
coner, President, University of Toronto; Hugh 
Munro, M.P.P., Glengarry. 



44 




COLONEL GEORGE STERLING RYERSON. CHAIRMAN OE COMMITTEE. 



THE SPEECHES 

The preliminaries over, the gathering was ad- 
dressed by a number of well known gentlemen whose 
speeches follow: 

COLONEL G. STERLING RYERSON 

Chairman of the General Committee 

This meeting to-day is held to commemorate the 
death of a brave and wise man who died in the de- 
fence of his country. It is not a pean of victory we 
sing but a requiem. We are not here to glorify war ; 
nor is our object to exult over our brave but 
defeated adversary. Rather is it an occasion when 
Canadians should pause and look back over the 
past and give praise to God that in the days of 
stress and storm He raised up great, good and 
brave men who were willing and able to fight for 
their king and country in order that they might 
enjoy civil and religious liberty under the British 
flag, and that they might hand down to their poster- 
ity a fair and goodly heritage which they had won 
from the primeval forests by their labour and sac- 
rifices. The United Empire Loyalists came to this 
country not as those who desired to better their 
condition in life, nor were they possessed by land 
hunger, nor by ideas of political and social aggran- 
disement. They came solely because of their devo- 
tion to the British Crown and Constitution, and 
because they preferred to live in peace and poverty 
under a monarchical Government rather than in 
wealth and discord under republican institutions. 
It was to these men that Brock appealed, nor did 
he appeal in vain when war was declared. It was 

45 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

on July 27th, 1812, that in reply to an address 
from the Assembly of Upper Canada he said : 

" Gentlemen : When invaded by an enemy whose 
avowed object is the entire conquest of the Pro- 
vince, the voice of loyalty as well as of interest 
calls aloud to every person in the sphere in which 
he is placed, to defend his country. Our militia 
have heard the voice and have obeyed it. They 
have evinced by the promptitude and loyalty of 
their conduct that they are worthy of the king 
whom they serve, and of the constitution which 
they enjoy; and it affords me particular satisfac- 
tion, that while I address you as legislators, I speak 
to men who, in the day of danger, will be ready to 
assist not only with their counsel, but with arms." 

He concluded as follows : " We are engaged in 
an awful and eventful contest. By unanimity and 
despatch in our councils, and by vigour in our 
operations, we may teach the enemy this lesson, 
that a country defended by free men, enthusiastic- 
ally devoted to the cause of their king and constitu- 
tion, can never be conquered." 

We know the response, and others who will fol- 
low me will speak of it in greater detail. With 
the Canadian poet we can say and sing: 

" We boast not of the victory, 
But render homage, deep and just, 
To his and their immortal dust, 
Who proved so worthy of their trust — 
No lofty pile nor sculptured bust 
Can herald their degree. 

" No tongue need blazon forth their fame — 
The cheers that stir the sacred hill 
Are but the promptings of the will 
That conquered then, that conquers -still ; 
And generations yet shall thrill 
At Brock's remembered name." 

46 



THE SPEECHES 

Nor must it be supposed that the United Empire 
Loyalists and their children were the only men 
who responded to Brock's call to arms. Our 
gallant French-Canadian compatriots were not a 
whit behind in their hearty response. Coming from 
a brave and adventurous race, they performed 
deeds of valour and endurance equal to the best in 
the defence of our country. The hardy Highland- 
ers of Glengarry, too, were rallied to the flag by 
the Macdonells. Not the least active among these 
Scottish Roman Catholic Loyalists was the Rev. 
Alexander Macdonell, a priest who afterwards 
became the " Good Bishop," a brave and loyal man 
whose country's welfare was ever near to his heart. 
Another Macdonell, George, was second in com- 
mand of the Glengarry Regiment, and still another, 
Colonel John Macdonell, was aide-de-camp to 
Brock in addition to being Attorney-General of 
the Province. He, alas, lost his life in his gallant 
efforts to second his chief at this battle which we 
commemorate to-day. Scotsmen are ever brave 
and loyal, and we have in the Scottish population 
of the country an element on whom we can rely in 
time of danger. 

Let us not forget that we owe not a little to our 
Indian allies in the War of 1812. Tecumseh and 
Brant played great parts. Nor was Brock nig- 
gardly in his praise. After the fall of Detroit he 
says in his despatch to the Governor-General : 

" The conduct of the Indians, under Colonel 
Elliot, Captain McKee and other officers of the 
department, joined to that of the gallant and brave 
of their respective tribes, has since the commence- 
ment of the war been marked with acts of true 
heroism, and in nothing can they testify more 
strongly their love for their King, their great 
Father, than in following the dictates of honour 
and humanity by which they have hitherto been 
actuated." 

47 



BEOCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

Why do we single out Brock as a hero among so 
many who have rendered good service to the coun- 
try? I think that it is because he was a man of 
loyalty, vigour, energy and administrative ability; 
because he was the embodiment of the patriotism 
and loyalty of the people; because he had within 
him the power to inspire others with the spirit 
of patriotism and self-sacrifice; and above and 
beyond all, it is due to his efforts, and to the spirit 
of resistance and Imperialism to which he gave 
form and substance, that Canada to-day is an 
integral part of the British Empire, and a daughter 
nation within that great galaxy of the nations 
known as the British Empire. 

What does it mean to be a British citizen? What 
benefits accrue to us by having this status? Are 
not the paths of the sea open to us and to our com- 
merce by the grace of the British navy? Can we 
not go to all parts of the world as individuals, 
knowing that the Union Jack protects us? Is it 
a small privilege to share in the brave deeds of the 
British army? Are we not proud of our common 
literature, and are not Shakespeare and Milton 
and Tennyson our very own? Not borrowed 
plumes we are wearing, but our own. And are not 
the benefits of British civil, religious and political 
liberty ours also? Is not British justice and 
administration of the law something to be proud 
of and to be thankful for? What should we do to 
maintain our status as a partner, a full partner, 
in the Imperial concern? Is it not our bounden 
duty to contribute directly to the support of the 
British navy? Are we to lag behind the other self- 
governing nations of the Empire in this essential 
duty? A thousand times No! A Government 
which will subscribe twenty-five millions of dollars 
for this purpose, and at once, can go to the polls 
in perfect confidence when their time comes to ask 
the people for their verdict. 

48 



THE SPEECHES 

Some good people seem to think that the time 
of universal peace is at hand. One has only to 
look at the state of affairs in Europe on this very 
day, to perceive how far we are removed from the 
millennium. In time of peace we must prepare for 
war; preparation for war is the best insurance 
policy against it. We wish to live at peace with 
all nations, but at all costs and at all hazards we 
must defend our shores. Universal military service 
is the duty of the Canadian people in the near 
future. The people will be better for it morally 
and physically. It will surely come, for the policy 
of the future is the maintenance of the integrity of 
the British Empire. We love our country, we 
believe it has a great future; we must make it 
secure. What says a sweet singer of Canada : 

" O strong hearts guarding the birthright of our 
glory, 
Worth your best blood this heritage ye guard : 
Those mighty streams resplendent with story, 

These iron coasts by rage of seas unjarred — 
What fields of peace these bulwarks well secure : 
What vales of plenty these calm floods supply : 
Shall not our love this rough, sweet land make 
sure, 
Her bounds preserve inviolate, though we die : 
O strong hearts of the North 
Let flame your loyalty forth, 
And put the craven and the base to open shame 
Till earth shall know the Child of Nations by her 
Name." 



49 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 
MR. ANGUS CLAUDE MACDONELL, M.P. 

Toronto 

We have gathered here to-day as Canadians 
to commemorate an event which will be ever 
dear to us and our posterity. One hundred 
years ago Sir Isaac Brock, the hero of Upper 
Canada, died in battle upon this field in 
defence of his country and the flag. In the past 
we have learned and heard altogether too little 
of this truly great man, and of what he accom- 
plished ; it is not too much to say that he preserved 
Canada to the Empire and at the same time created 
a national sentiment in Canada which has ever 
grown and' expanded to the present day. The 
national importance of the battle of Queenston 
Heights, following the capitulation of Detroit, can- 
not be over-estimated ; national sentiment or a feel- 
ing of nationhood was even then manifesting itself 
in this young colony. The peoples who had settled 
in Canada sprang from races which had always 
stood out strongly for national identity — the Eng- 
lish glory in their historic past; the Scottish race, 
to which my forefathers belonged and which to 
some extent I represent, on this occasion, are noted 
for their love of country; and so with the other 
races which made up the United Empire Loyalist 
settlers of Upper Canada at the time of the War 
of 1812-14. Our national heart was created and 
stirred in this century-old war, and the heartbeats 
have ever become stronger down to this day, and 
we now look back through the mists of one hundred 
years to Sir Isaac Brock as the first true source of 
national sentiment which fertilized our country, 
and stamped it as British and Canadian forever. 

Our object in coming here to-day, after we have 
enjoyed one hundred years of blessed peace with 
our neighbours to the south, is not to perpetuate 
national hostility, or even to cherish a mere mili- 

50 



THE SPEECHES 

tary spirit ; we hope and pray and fully believe that 
this peace will ever exist between us and our 
American brothers. Our object in coming here 
to-day is to honour the name and memory of one 
who was chiefly instrumental in bringing about 
that blessed peace, and in preserving our country 
to enjoy it; and in the name of peace we say that 
the ground upon which we stand to-day is conse- 
crated and distinguished by the valour of our 
soldier hero, who gave up his life on this spot in 
the first great battle of the War of 1812 to purchase 
that peace which a grateful country has ever since 
enjoyed. 

This monument under which we stand is a fit 
emblem of everlasting peace and at the same time 
it fittingly commemorates the glorious death of the 
man in memory of whom it was raised. We Cana- 
dians should ever be grateful to Divine Providence 
for having favoured us with such an able civil and 
military chief, because Brock was both the chief 
executive in our civil affairs and Commander-in- 
Chief of the forces. As Administrator of the 
Province of Upper Canada he was able and pru- 
dent; as Commander-in-Chief he was experienced 
and fearless. It remained, however, for the great 
chief Tecumseh to read the true character of the 
man as man. When they first met, Tecumseh 
turned to his fellow chiefs and allies, and, pointing 
to Brock, who stood by him, said, " This is a man !" 
The correctness of this opinion was borne out in 
both the life and death of Brock. 

Our hero was ever dutiful. He always performed 
his duty and saw that others did likewise. The 
performance of duty was ever uppermost in his 
mind, and his ideals were always high, his aspira- 
tions noble. Permit me to quote here one of his 
first General Orders issued to the troops imme- 
diately upon his taking the field on the 4th of 
July, 1812 : 

51 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

" The Major-General calls the serious attention 
of every militiaman to the efforts making by the 
enemy to destroy and lay waste this flourishing 
country; they must be sensible of the great stake 
they have to contend for and will, by their conduct, 
convince the enemy that they are not desirous of 
bowing their necks to a foreign yoke. The Major- 
General is determined to devote his best energies 
to the defence of the country, and has no doubt 
that, supported by the zeal, activity and determina- 
tion of the loyal inhabitants of this Province, he 
will successfully repel every hostile attack, and 
preserve to them inviolate all that they hold dear." 

The result of the war proves how well Brock 
himself lived up to these sentiments. 

Let us always remember that the War of 1812 
was not of our making. On the 18th of June, 1812, 
President Madison declared war against Great 
Britain, with Canada as the point of attack. The 
" Right of Search," the power to search for contra- 
band or for deserters on board of American ships, 
was claimed by Britain, but was resisted by the 
United States. Strange to say, this claim was 
abandoned by Great Britain the very day before 
war was declared by President Madison, yet the 
war was declared and went on. It will be readily 
seen that Canada had absolutely nothing to do 
with this war or its alleged cause, the " Right of 
Search " ; and yet, in making this war on Canada, 
the United States placed itself on record as approv- 
ing a forcible invasion of a neighbouring peaceful 
country and of involving it in all the horrors of 
war. At that time the United States had eight 
million people, Upper Canada had barely eighty 
thousand. At the very outset the Americans placed 
upon a war footing one hundred and seventy-five 
thousand men, whereas there were less than ten 
thousand men of all kinds capable of bearing arms 
in Upper Canada. These figures give us an idea 

52 



THE SPEECHES 

of the very great disparity both in numbers and 
fighting strength between the two peoples so far 
as we in Upper Canada were concerned. During 
the two and a half years of the war there were no 
less than twelve separate and distinct invasions of 
Canada, and fifty-six military and naval engage- 
ments, the great majority of which were won by 
our forces. While Brock lived his genius and spirit 
guided and inspired the defence of the country, and 
after his death his noble example and the prepara- 
tions he had made for war during his life encour- 
aged and enabled the people to repel the invader. 

Under the guise of strict discipline and the grim 
visage of a soldier and fighting man, Isaac Brock 
possessed a warm human heart; he was ever solici- 
tous for the comfort and well-being of his people 
and especially of his militia soldiers, and on every 
occasion consistent with the safety of the Province 
he relaxed the rigours of war and would permit the 
militia to return to their homes and farms. This 
is evidenced by many of his Militia General Orders. 
An extract from Militia General Orders of 26th of 
August, 1812, immediately after the capture of 
Detroit, reads as follows: 

" Major-General Brock has ever felt anxious to 
study the comforts and conveniences of the militia, 
but the conduct of the detachments which lately 
accompanied him to Detroit has if possible 
increased his anxiety on this subject. The present 
cessation of hostilities enables him to dispense 
with the services of a large proportion of them for 
a short period." 

We very naturally ask ourselves who these troops 
were for whose welfare General Brock was always 
so solicitous. There were of course some British 
regular troops in Canada, noticeably the Forty- 
ninth, Brock's own regiment, but during the earlier 
stages of the war, and while Brock lived, the men 
of the Province, militia and yeomanry, had to be 

53 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

relied upon mainly; these chiefly were the men of 
the York, Glengarry, Norfolk and other militia 
regiments ; every loyal man capable of bearing arms 
in the Province turned out to fight, or to help those 
who fought. The York and Glengarry militia 
served with great distinction, and I may perhaps 
be permitted to refer to the fact that forty-three 
gentlemen of my own name and family connection 
held commissions in the various regiments in that 
war. In connection with this I might further men- 
tion a somewhat curious incident. My own grand- 
father, Colonel Alexander Macdonell, was taken 
prisoner by the Americans at the Battle of 
Niagara, and was confined as a prisoner at Lan- 
caster, Pennsylvania, in the very same prison in 
which his own father, Captain Allan Macdonell, 
had been confined by the Revolutionary States as 
a prisoner of war during the Revolutionary War, 
1776-83. 

Now, happily, all is peace; we have enjoyed one 
hundred years of peace and we thank Divine Provi- 
dence for it. We have had preserved to us by 
Brock and those who fought and fell with him a 
rich kingdom ; we possess it in peace and happiness 
and great prosperity. This is an age of peace, and 
in this age and generation it is fit that we should 
advance all the works and arts of peace; a very 
great trust in this respect has been handed down 
to us and confided to our safe keeping. In these 
days of our prosperity we must protect and defend 
and develop this great country, this rich heritage 
which the heroism of our forefathers has preserved 
to us. We must not only conserve it, but we must 
better it and develop it, and make useful to man 
all these possessions which have been given us. 
Our ideals and ambitions must always be high, and 
if we find ourselves faltering let us look upon this 
splendid monument and think of the hero in 
honour of whom it was raised; and let us at all 
times remember that now as in 1812 in unity we 

54 



THE SPEECHES 

possess our strength; we must become one people 
if we are to be a great people, with one great com- 
mon country. We have many Provinces but only 
one Canada. 

It has been well said by one of Brock's 
biographers that " it remains for the youth of 
Canada to profoundly cherish the memory of Isaac 
Brock and to never lose an opportunity to follow 
the example set for them by his splendid deeds." 
It has also been truly said that " he fell ere he saw 
the star of his country rise," and, although the sky 
over this battlefield upon which his eyes closed 
forever one hundred years ago was cloudy and 
overcast, yet because he lived and died those who 
came after him enjoy the cloudless sunshine of 
peace and happiness. 

Brock's family motto was " He who guards never 
sleeps." We know how faithfully he guarded and 
safeguarded his country in life, and let us pray 
that in death under this monument he sleeps well. 



HON. DR. R. A. PYNE 

Minister of Education, Ontario 

I have a great deal of pleasure in being present 
here to-day on this historic spot, and am deeply 
sensible of the honour conferred upon me in asking 
me to represent the Government of Ontario on this 
occasion. 

We are meeting here to-day to commemorate the 
deeds of a great man who passed away in his effort 
to save this part of the world for the British 
Empire. We must remember that at the time of 
the battle this part of the world was a wilderness, 
and Sir Isaac Brock's wonderful capabilities 
enabled him to consolidate the people of this 
sparsely settled country, not forgetting our dear 
old friends the Indians. With a handful of people, 
as compared with the country to the south of us, 

55 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

he made a gallant defence, and, as I said, retained 
this part of the world for the British Empire. He 
was not only a great soldier, but a diplomat and a 
statesman, and whatever his vision may have been 
one hundred years ago, everyone will agree with 
me that it was of such a character that he retained 
one of the best and finest parts of the world for 
Great Britain. 

Let me say a word regarding the loyalty, the love 
of home and patriotism that existed at that time 
on this field of battle, and it might be asked, what 
are we doing to-day to create a sentiment of patriot- 
ism and loyalty to our country and flag? Let me 
contrast the efforts made in Canada to create a 
patriotic and national sentiment as compared with 
the country to the south of us. Just here let me 
tell you a short story regarding what occurred to 
myself in the city of Detroit some years ago, before 
I was a member of the Legislative Assembly or had 
any thought of public life. I have always remem- 
bered it with the keenest appreciation of the great 
work in which the people to the south of us are 
engaged, inculcating in the youth of the country a 
loyal and patriotic sentiment. I was in Detroit on 
a school fete day when the children of each school 
were marshalled together for a march past the 
Detroit City Hall, where they had a large picture 
of the President surrounded by their national flag, 
the Stars and Stripes. As each school reached the 
entrance to the City Hall the scholars halted, 
saluted, and gave three cheers. To a little urchin 
on the street near me who was selling papers I 
said, " Why do they stop and cheer?" He replied, 
" They are cheering for the old flag which we call 
1 Old Glory,' and, sir, let me tell you that is the flag 
that was never licked!" I possibly did not agree 
with the accuracy of his history, but I realized the 
sentiment that had been created in that youngster's 
mind, a sentiment of loyalty and patriotism no 
doubt inculcated in his mind at school. 

56 



THE SPEECHES 

You may reasonably ask, " What are we doing to 
create a sentiment of loyalty and patriotism in this 
country?" and I may say that we have succeeded in 
placing the Union Jack, the flag of civilization, over 
every rural school in the Province of Ontario. I 
am also reminded of what took place the other day 
in the State of New Jersey, and as you are a reading 
people, this episode would not pass unnoticed by 
you— it appeared in all of the papers of last week. 
A boy attending a high school in the State of New 
Jersey was asked, as is their custom Monday morn- 
ing, to salute the flag and to announce allegiance to 
the United States. The boy stated that he had no 
objection tc salute the flag, but he could not give 
his allegiance to the United States as he was a 
British subject. Mr. President, I find that the State 
regulations of New Jersey call upon every scholar 
in their schools to salute the flag on each Monday 
morning and to declare their allegiance to the 
United States. This boy, being a British subject, 
could not conform to that part of the regulations, 
and was dismissed from the school. What would 
our people think of a regulation of that kind? 1 
leave it for your meditation. 

I hope and trust this meeting will be an inspira- 
tion that will extend all over this Dominion of Can- 
ada, and that some definite and proper way shall 
be found to commemorate the deeds of our ancestors 
and those great heroes whose efforts we to-day jubi- 
late in this part of Canada, realizing the great 
heritage that has become ours through the agency 
of those great men who have passed away. May 
Canada always remain a part — and by the 
Almighty's help I believe it will always remain a 
part — of the British Empire. 

Mr. President, let me congratulate the Historical 
Societies, the volunteers and cadets here assembled 
for bringing about this wonderful meeting, which 
I trust will have an influence in making this an 
annual celebration for all time to come. 

57 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 
COLONEL GEORGE T. DENISON 

Toronto 

It is a great satisfaction to me to be here to-day 
and to know that so many patriotic societies and 
organizations have clubbed together to commem- 
orate so splendidly the one hundredth anniversary 
of the notable victory gained upon this field. 

The great, virile nations of the world have always 
commemorated the brave deeds and victories of 
their fathers. The Romans did everything in their 
power to inspire their young men with love of 
country by relating stories of their glorious past. 
Some of them were evidently legends, but they all 
tended to create and instil a pure national spirit. 

For five hundred years after Marathon the 
Athenians commemorated the glorious victory won 
against overwhelming odds. The Spartans never 
forgot the death of Leonidas and his three hun- 
dred brave, unflinching followers, who died for the 
honour of their country at Thermopylae. Pausanias 
the historian was able to read six hundred years 
after upon a column erected to their memory in 
Sparta, the names of the three hundred Spartans 
who had died with their king in that fight. 

In Russia also the same spirit of reverence for 
their great heroes has always shown itself. Dimitry 
saved Russia by a great victory over the Tartars 
in 1380. Over five hundred years have elapsed, 
but still the name of Dimitry Donskoi lives in the 
memory and the songs of the Russian people, and 
still on " Dimitry's Saturday," the anniversary of 
the battle, prayers are offered up in memory of the 
brave men who fell on that day in defence of their 
country. 

Switzerland is another example of the patriot- 
ism of a free people. They won their freedom by 
three great victories won against overwhelming 
odds at Morgarten, Sempach and Naefels. Naefels 

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was the final victory, and every year the people 
commemorate the great event. In solemn proces- 
sion the people revisit the battlefield and the Lan- 
damman tells the fine old story of their deliver- 
ance from foreign rule. The five hundredth anni- 
versary was celebrated in 1888, and people from 
all parts of Switzerland flocked to participate in 
the patriotic and religious services. This national 
spirit has kept Switzerland free although sur- 
rounded by great powers. Her children are all 
trained as soldiers in their public schools, and com- 
pulsory training of all their youth is rigidly 
enforced. We could learn a lesson from them in 
this. 

Canada has shown the same virile spirit as other 
great nations, and we may take pride in the way in 
which our people have recognized what they owe 
to General Brock and the men who fought with 
him on this field one hundred years ago. This spot 
has seen several inspiring demonstrations. 

Brock and Macdonell had been buried in Fort 
George in 1812. In 1824 their remains were 
removed and buried again under the first monu- 
ment here. In 1824 there were no railways, practi- 
cally no steamers, and the population of the Pro- 
vince was very small, and yet in the funeral cortege 
there were 560 men on horseback, 285 carriages 
and wagons, and thousands of persons on foot, in 
all estimated at about ten thousand people, who 
followed the remains the seven miles from Niagara 
to this place. That was a remarkable tribute to 
the memory of the great general. 

In 1840 the monument was blown up on Good 
Friday by an Irish rebel or Fenian named Ben- 
jamin Lett. This aroused intense indignation 
throughout the Province, and a great demonstra- 
tion was organized to arrange for building a new 
monument on a grander scale. The meeting was 
held in July, 1840, and a great number of the fore- 
most men in public life attended. Ten steamers, 

59 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

all crowded with people, moved up the river in 
procession. About eight thousand persons were 
present. A new monument was decided upon and 
it is here above us uow. It is a wonderful monu- 
ment to have been erected by a small community 
when there was very little wealth in the country. 
This jnonument is as a column the finest and grand- 
est I have seen. I put it far above the column to 
Alexander I. in front of the Winter Palace in 
St. Petersburg. It is about forty feet higher than 
the one to Nelson in Trafalgar Square. The 
National German Monument in the Neiderwald 
does not strike me as being so impressive. 

In 1859, on the anniversary of the battle, there 
was another great gathering here for the inaugura- 
tion of the monument. I was here with a detach- 
ment of my corps and there were a great many 
other detachments and people, and about two hun- 
dred of the old veterans of the war who came again 
to do honour to their dead chief. In the follow- 
ing year the late King was visiting Canada, and 
naturally he came here to do honour to the memory 
of the great general and to meet the surviving 
veterans of the war. There was another great 
demonstration and I was there on that occasion 
also. Could anything show more clearly the deep 
hold that General Brock had on the affection 
and memory of the Canadian people than these 
repeated gatherings? And now, after another fifty- 
two years, there is this splendid demonstration of 
respect and gratitude. I am proud that our people 
have done their duty to-day, and I hope that our 
action will inspire our children a hundred years 
hence to commemorate the great event. I make no 
apologies for coming here to glory over the victory. 
Brock died on this field and our fathers fought here 
that we should be a free and independent people, 
and we have enjoyed that position for a hundred 
years, thanks to their efforts. How can we use that 
freedom better, than in testifying in the heartiest 

60 




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THE SPEECHES 

manner our gratitude and appreciation for the 
priceless boon which we owe to those who then 
won it for us ! 



MR. J. A. MACDONELL, K.C. 

Glengarry, Ontario 

Permit me to express on behalf of the members of 
this generation of the family to which the former 
Attorney-General Macdonell belonged, my warm 
appreciation of the honour which was done to that 
gentleman's memory, by the invitation which in 
terms so generous and complimentary and so 
appreciative of his services, was extended to me as 
the representative of his family, to be present on 
this most interesting occasion as the special guest 
of your Committee. 

We are assembled here to-day to commemorate 
the Centennial Anniversary of the death of Sir 
Isaac Brock, to give evidence that we Canadians 
hold in grateful remembrance the inestimable ser- 
vices which he rendered to our country, and to 
record it as our firm and solemn conviction that 
it is to that illustrious man of glorious memory 
we owe the preservation of this country, our con- 
nection with the Motherland and those British 
institutions which it is our happiness now to enjoy. 

It was indeed a privilege for any man to have 
served under Sir Isaac Brock, to have been in any 
way associated with him, and more especially to 
have been placed in a position whereby he was 
enabled to second his indomitable efforts. It was 
the good fortune of Attorney- General Macdonell 
to have been associated with him in a threefold 
capacity. First he was connected with him by the 
most intimate ties of private friendship, for there 
existed between them the most perfect confidence 
and a mutual regard, amounting, as is frequently 

61 



BEOCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

the case with men of generous impulse, to per- 
sonal affection. Then as Attorney-General of the 
Province and chief law adviser of the Crown, he 
was the trusted legal adviser of General Brock in 
his capacity of President of the Council of the Pro- 
vince, and although but a young man he was equal 
to the exigencies of that critical period. 

Upon the declaration of war, the House of 
Assembly was hastily convened in extra session 
on the 27th July, when General Brock, in the 
Speech from the Throne, made use of those ever- 
memorable words : " We are engaged in an awful 
and eventful contest. By unanimity and despatch 
in our councils and by vigour in our operations 
we will teach the enemy this lesson : that a country 
defended by free men, enthusiastically devoted to 
the cause of their King and Constitution, can 
never be conquered." But the House proved recal- 
citrant, and refused to comply with Brock's request 
to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act. It was the 
Attorney-General who solved the difficulty by giv- 
ing it as his legal opinion that Major-General 
Brock, as Administrator of the Province, under 
the authority of his Commission from the King, 
had the power to dissolve the House and proclaim 
martial law, and that under the circumstances it 
was his duty to do so. This opinion was con- 
curred in by his colleagues in the Government, and, 
accordingly, the Government as such tendered it 
as their unanimous advice to the Administrator, 
who immediately acted upon it, and thereby saved 
the country. 

As a consequence of this drastic measure, the 
three leaders of the Opposition in the Legislature 
— Joseph Willcocks, Benjamin Mallory and Abra- 
ham Markle — who had been chiefly instrumental 
up to this time in thwarting all Brock's efforts, 
immediately fled to the United States, with which 
they had long been in traitorous intercourse, and 
where all their sympathies lay, Willcocks being 

62 



THE SPEECHES 

eventually killed at the battle of Fort Erie, in 1814, 
in command of an American regiment, and Mallory 
serving throughout the war as a major in the same 
corps. 

This measure enabled Brock also to deal sum- 
marily with their disloyal partisans and followers, 
much more numerous and infinitely more danger- 
ous than is now generally supposed. He imme- 
diately issued a proclamation ordering all persons 
suspected of conniving with the enemy to be appre- 
hended, and treated according to law. Those who 
had not taken the oath of allegiance were ordered 
to do so or leave the Province ; many were sent out 
of the country; large numbers left of their own 
accord; those who refused to take the oath or to 
take up arms to defend the country, and remained 
in the Province after a given date, were declared 
to be enemies and spies, and were treated accord- 
ingly ; a large number of this disloyal element were 
arrested and imprisoned early in the war, as on the 
day of the Battle of Queenston Heights the jail 
and Court House at Niagara as well as the block- 
house at Fort George were filled with political 
prisoners, over three hundred aliens and traitors 
being in custody, some of whom were tried and 
sentenced to death, while others were sent to 
Quebec for imprisonment. 

This pressing and important business having 
been accomplished, General Brock entered actively 
upon his campaign, and determined upon offensive 
measures by an assault upon Detroit. Colonel 
Macdonell accompanied him as his military secre- 
tary and aide-de-camp. When the American, Gen- 
eral Hull, in command of a greatly superior force 
and in possession of a strongly fortified position, 
on the 16th August proposed a cessation of hostili- 
ties with a view to his surrender, it was Colonel 
Macdonell whom General Brock entrusted with 
the delicate and important task of preparing the 
terms of capitulation. He returned within an hour 

63 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

with the conditions, which were immediately con- 
firmed by General Brock, whereby Fort Detroit 
with 59,700 square miles of American territory — 
the whole State of Michigan — was surrendered. 
2,500 officers and men became prisoners of war, 
and 2,500 stand of arms, thirty-three pieces of 
cannon, the Adams brig-of-war, and stores and 
munitions of war to the value of £40,000, all so 
sorely needed by the Canadian militia, were handed 
over to the British Commander. 

General Brock in his despatch to the Home Gov- 
ernment announcing the capture of Detroit, and 
which was published in a Gazette Extraordinary 
in London on the 6th October, with characteristic 
generosity bore testimony to the services of his 
friend in the following terms : " In the attainment 
of this important point gentlemen of the first char- 
acter and influence showed an example highly 
creditable to them, and I cannot on this occasion 
avoid mentioning the essential assistance I derived 
from John Macdonell, Esquire, His Majesty's 
Attorney-General, who from the beginning of the 
war has honoured me with his services as my Pro- 
vincial Aide-de-Camp." 

Brock's biographer and nephew, Mr. Ferdinand 
Brock Tupper, graphically tells the end of them 
both, almost upon the spot upon which we now 
stand. After mention of the hasty gallop from 
Fort George, at dawn on the 13th October, when 
it was found that the Americans had during the 
night passed over the Niagara River and succeeded 
in gaining the crest of the heights in rear of the 
battery, and Brock's desperate effort to dislodge 
them, he goes on to say : " The Americans now 
opened a heavy fire of musketry, and, conspicuous 
from his dress, his height, and the enthusiasm with 
which he animated his little band, the British com- 
mander was soon singled out, and he fell about 
an hour after his arrival, the fatal bullet entering 
his right breast and passing through his left side. 

64 



THE SPEECHES 

He lived only long enough to request that his fall 
might not be noticed, or prevent the advance of his 
brave troops. The lifeless body was immediately 
conveyed into a house at Queenston, where it 
remained until the afternoon, unperceived of the 
enemy. His aide-de-camp, Lieutenant-Colonel Mac- 
donell, Attorney-General of Upper Canada — a fine, 
promising young man — was mortally wounded soon 
after his chief, and died the next day, at the early 
age of twenty-seven years. Although one bullet had 
passed through his body, and he was wounded in 
four places, yet he survived twenty hours, and 
during a period of excruciating agony his thoughts 
and words were constantly occupied in lamenta- 
tions for his deceased commander and friend. He 
fell while gallantly charging, with the hereditary 
courage of his race, up the hill with 190 men, 
chiefly of the York Volunteers, by which charge 
the enemy was compelled to spike the eighteen- 
pounders in the battery there ; and his memory will 
be cherished as long as courage and devotion are 
reverenced in the Province." 

General Sheaffe, who succeeded General Brock 
upon the death of the latter, in his despatch 
announcing the victory which eventually crowned 
our arms, thus couples their names : " . . . No 
officer was killed besides Major-General Brock, one 
of the most gallant and zealous officers in His Maj- 
esty's service, whose loss cannot be too much 
deplored, and Lieutenant-Colonel Macdonell, Pro- 
vincial Aide-de-Camp, whose gallantry and merit 
rendered him worthy of his chief." 

The Prince Regent thus acknowledged the 
communication through the Governor-General, by 
whom it had been forwarded : " His Royal High- 
ness, the Prince Regent, is fully aware of the severe 
loss which His Majesty's service has experienced 
in the death of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock. 
This would have been sufficient to have clouded a 
victory of much greater importance. His Majesty 

65 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

has lost in him not only an able and meritorious 
officer, but one who, in the exercise of his functions 
of Provisional Lieutenant-Governor of the Pro- 
vince, displayed qualities admirably adapted to 
awe the disloyal, to reconcile the wavering, and to 
animate the great mass of the inhabitants against 
successive attempts of the enemy to invade the Pro- 
vince, in the last of which he unhappily fell, too 
prodigal of that life of which his eminent services 
had taught us to understand the value. His Royal 
Highness has also been pleased to express his 
regret at the loss which the Province must experi- 
ence in the death of the Attorney-General, Mr. 
Macdonell, whose zealous co-operation with Sir 
Isaac Brock will reflect lasting honour on his 
memory." In communicating the above to the 
father of the Attorney-General, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Coffin, P.A.D.C, under date York, March 20th, 
1813, stated by command of His Honour the Presi- 
dent that " it would doubtless afford some satis- 
faction to all the members of the family to which 
the late Attorney-General was so great an orna- 
ment to learn that his merit has been recognized 
even by the Royal Personage who wields the sceptre 
of the British Empire, and on which His Honour 
commands me to declare his personal gratification." 

No medal was struck for Queenston Heights, but 
when some time afterwards the rewards for the 
capture of Detroit were distributed, gold medals 
were deposited by the Sovereign with the families 
of Major-General Brock and Colonel Macdonell, 
and the King stated in each instance that it was 
done " in token of the respect which His Majesty 
entertains for the memory of that officer." 

The graciously worded despatch of the Prince 
Regent mentioned the only fault of Sir Isaac 
Brock. Like Nelson he was too prodigal of his 
life; but as, alike by his services and his glorious 
death, Nelson became the hero and the idol of the 
British people, so by his services and his death 

66 



THE SPEECHES 

Brock became for all time the hero of the people 
of this Province, and his memory will never die. 
Although he had served ten years in Canada, he 
had held his position as Administrator of Upper 
Canada but a few days over a year; yet that 
short time was sufficient to obtain for his name 
immortality, so long as the English language can 
narrate what in that brief period he accomplished, 
and hold forth for succeeding generations of 
British subjects in Canada and throughout the 
Empire the bright example of his genius and his 
gallantry, and the indomitable spirit with which 
he contended and overcame difficulties, apparently 
insurmountable, and which were sufficient to appal 
a heart even as stout and to tax to the uttermost a 
mind as versatile and resourceful as his. 

Under this stately column he found a fitting 
tomb, and the ardent young friend, Glengarry's 
representative, who fell with him, lies beside him. 



DR. JAMES L. HUGHES 

Chief Inspector of Schools, Toronto 

I had the honour of requesting the Hon. Dr. 
Pyne, Minister of Education, to call the atten- 
tion of the School Boards of Ontario to the 
importance of celebrating the hundredth anniver- 
sary of the victory so gallantly won on these 
heights, and of paying due tribute to the 
brave men and women who so nobly and 
heroically struggled to preserve for us the bless- 
ings of British liberty, and of unity with our 
motherland. To these men and women of firm 
faith and strong heart we give gratitude and rever- 
ence to-day, and especially to the statesman and 
hero who at the foot of these heights died a hun- 
dred years ago while leading Canadian volunteers 
to drive back invaders who without just cause had 

67 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

dared to come to Canada with the avowed purpose 
of forcibly taking possession of our country. 

In the judgment of the committee that arranged 
for the celebration of the glorious deeds of our 
early history, it is most important that Canadian 
children should be trained to revere the memories 
of the great and true men and women of one hun- 
dred years ago, and to rejoice because of the vic- 
tories won by them for freedom and for imperial 
unity. 

There are men who have written to the news- 
papers objecting to the course we adopted. They 
seem to think it improper to let our children know 
that our country was ever in danger, and that it 
was saved by the unselfish devotion and the brave 
deeds of our ancestors. However, in spite of their 
protests, based on weak and unpatriotic sentiment, 
we intend to teach young Canadians to remember 
the patriotism and valour of the founders and 
defenders of Canada, and to train them to become 
worthy successors to the men and women who made 
such sacrifices for them. 

We have no wish to fill the hearts of the pupils 
in our schools with animosity towards the great 
nation whose fertile fields and happy homes we see 
beyond the great river that separates it from our 
own fair land. We wish to develop in our children 
a spirit that will lead them to say to the people 
across our borderland not " Hands off Canada," 
but " Hands together to achieve for God and for 
humanity the highest and broadest and truest 
ideals that have been revealed to the Anglo-Saxon 
race." 

We do not wish to make our children quarrel- 
some or offensive, but we do wish them to be 
patriotic Canadians, full of loyalty to their flag, 
their Empire, and their King. We wish them to 
understand what their predecessors did in order 
that they may have faith in themselves and in their 
country; and we intend that they shall learn the 

68 



THE SPEECHES 

achievements of the past in order that they may 
have a true basis for their own manhood and 
womanhood. True reverence for courage and self- 
sacrifice, fidelity to principle, and devotion to home 
and country in time of need, is a fundamental ele- 
ment of strong, true character. The facts of his- 
tory may have little influence in developing char- 
acter, but the noble deeds of our ancestors per- 
formed for high purposes are the surest sources for 
the development of the strong and true emotions 
that make human character vital instead of inert. 
Emotions form the battery power of character, and 
among the emotions that give strength and virility 
and beauty to character, reverence for the dead 
who wisely struggled and nobly achieved, is surely 
one of the most productive of dignified and trans- 
forming character. 

The history of the past is valuable chiefly for the 
opportunities it gives to be stirred to deep, true 
enthusiasm for heroism, for honour, for patriotism, 
for love of freedom, for devotion to duty, and for 
sublime self-sacrifice for high ideals. Whatever 
else we may neglect in the training of the young, I 
trust we shall never fail to fill their hearts with 
profound reverence for the men and women of the 
past to whom they owe so much. 

We should teach other lessons from the War of 
1812. We should fill each child's life with a splen- 
did courage that can never be dismayed, by telling 
how a few determined settlers scattered widely 
over a new country successfully repelled invading 
armies coming from a country with a population 
twenty-fold larger. We should teach reverence 
not only for manhood but for womanhood by 
recounting the terrible hardships endured wil- 
lingly by Canadian women generally, as well as by 
proudly relating the noble work done by individual 
women, of whom Laura Secord was so conspicuous 
an example. 

69 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

A certain class of thoughtless people call us 
" flag-wavers " if we strive to give our young people 
a true conception of the value of national life, and 
of their duty to have a true love for their country 
and for their Empire. If a flag-waver means one 
who is proud of a noble ancestry, and determined 
to prove worthy of the race from which he sprung ; 
one who knows that his forefathers gave a wider 
meaning to freedom, and who intends to perpetuate 
liberty and aid in giving it a still broader and 
higher value; one who is grateful because his 
Empire represents the grandest revelation of unity 
yet made known to humanity and who accepts this 
revelation as a sacred trust, then I am a flag- waver, 
and I shall make every boy and girl whom I can 
ever influence a flag-waver who loves his flag and 
waves it because it represents freedom, and honour, 
and justice, and truth, and unity, and a glorious 
history, the most triumphantly progressive that 
has been achieved by any nation in the development 
of the world. 

We do well to celebrate the great deeds of the 
men and women of a hundred years ago, and teach 
our children to give them reverence, but it is far 
more important for us to consider what the people 
a hundred years hence will think of us than to 
glorify the triumphs of a hundred years ago. The 
work of the world is not done. Evolution to higher 
ideals goes ever on. Each succeeding generation 
has greater responsibilities and higher duties than 
the one that preceded it. The greatest lesson we 
can learn from the past is that we should prove 
true to the opportunities of our time; that we 
should with unselfish motive and undaunted hearts 
accept the responsibilities that come to us as part- 
ners in our magnificent Empire, and share in the 
achievement of greater triumphs for freedom and 
justice than have ever been recorded in the past. 

Inspired by the records of such men as Brock, 
at the foot of whose monument we stand to-day and 

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look with reminiscent glance over the marvellous 
progress of a hundred glorious years, let us deter- 
mine that we shall do our part to make the coming 
century more fruitful than the past. 

CHIEF A. G. SMITH 

Six Nation Indians, Grand River Reserve 

If a Mohawk Chief had in his make-up a particle 
of timidity I fear that your cheering would have 
frightened or disconcerted me. 

Now, contrary to the usual preface to speeches 
on occasions of this nature, let me instead say that 
my pleasure in addressing you this afternoon is 
not altogether unalloyed, as I look back to the 
f remote past, when my ancestors could make or 
unmake nations on this continent ; their favour was 
then courted by the different European nations, 
until finally they entered into an alliance or treaty 
with the military authorities of the British nation, 
and which the Six Nations has ever held inviolate. 

They, however, in my humble opinion, made a 
serious mistake in taking sides in the War of 
American Independence, as their treaty obliga- 
tions only required them to assist the British when 
attacked by a foreign power and not in a case of 
family quarrel, so they could have consistently 
taken a neutral ground. It is not, however, so 
surprising that they took the step they did when 
we consider the influences that were brought to 
bear on them and the inducements that were held 
out to them. Consider the influence of Tha-yen-da- 
ne-gea— -Brant, their war chief— and their own 
love of war. War with them was as religion. Add 
to these the influence of Sir William Johnson and 
others. 

And there was the very strong inducement that 
they would be guaranteed a perpetual independ- 

71 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

ence and self-government, and also that they would 
be amply indemnified for any and all losses that 
they might sustain by their services. Now we 
know that these pledges were not adequately ful- 
filled, yet, notwithstanding this fact, the Six 
Nations remained faithful in their adherence to 
the British Crown. 

And now allow me to come down to the eventful 
times which more immediately concern us this 
afternoon. Let me at the outset briefly but most 
emphatically assert that in those troublous times 
no followers of the illustrious Brock, whose fall and 
victory we are this afternoon commemorating, 
fought more bravely than the Six Nations; their 
very admiration of that great and brave general 
was as a spur to their bravery. 

I think I may truthfully say that had it not been 
for the bravery of the Six Nations the Union Jack 
would not to-day be waving over these historic 
heights. 

The Six Nations have never had an historian of 
their own to record the brave deeds of valour of 
their warriors, and therefore get but scant justice 
in the historical records of this country; naturally 
the historians magnify the achievements of their 
own peoples, while I claim that more credit should 
be given my own people. 

Let me instance one or two samples of justice 
doled out to my people in various lines. You know 
that in Ontario manhood suffrage prevails in poli- 
tical elections, so that any foreigner after six 
months' residence can have every privilege of a 
full citizen, although he may have no higher inter- 
est in the country than as a place in which to earn 
his bread and butter, and whose ancestors have 
never shed a drop of blood for its retention by 
Britain, and who himself may never fight in its 
defence, but who may go back to fight his own 
country's battles, perhaps even against Britain. 

72 



THE SPEECHES 

But the original owners of this country, proved 
to be men on many a battlefield, who fought and 
won Britain's battles, ceased to be men and became 
minors after the battles were won and British pre- 
dominance secured, and therefore are not allowed 
men's privileges. 

I contend that if Canada is to do justice (and I 
believe it will) to the Six Nations, it will have to 
give them representation on the floor of the House 
of Commons and also respect the treaty conces- 
sions made to them, instead of gradually curtailing 
their tribal rights and privileges. These blood- 
bought rights and privileges are just as dear to the 
Six Nations as similar ones are to any other nation. 

I fear, Mr. Chairman, that I have already taken 
up my allotted time, so will refrain from giving all 
the examples of our loyalty I would have liked to 
present to this vast assemblage. Allow me, how- 
ever, to say that as this is an influential gathering, 
so I hope that each individual of influence will go 
back to his or her sphere of usefulness and listen 
to the cry for justice on behalf of the Six Nations, 
fully appreciating the fact that it is " up to you " 
to see to it that justice is done this people who have 
rendered such inestimable service to this country 
and to Britain. 

My remarks may not suit everyone, but I cannot 
help that. I am not courting popularity, for I am 
getting too old for that, and I am descended from 
too long a line of brave warriors to be afraid to 
speak the truth, whether it be pleasant or other- 
wise. 

Thanking you, Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentle- 
men, for the privilege and honour of addressing 
this influential assemblage and for the kind hear- 
ing and attention accorded to me. 

[At the conclusion of Chief Smith's speech three 
rousing warwhoops were given, led by Chiefs John- 
son and Elliott, and joined in by all present.] 

73 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 
WARRIOR F. ONONDEYOH LOFT 

Six Nation Indians 

We are assembled to-day on this historic spot to 
commemorate the memory of a great soldier, a 
patriot and renowned son of the Empire of which 
we are a part. 

I am pleased to note the presence of so many 
chiefs and warriors of the Six Nations who are 
here assembled on the basis of one common citizen- 
ship with you, to join with our white brethren to 
pay respect and homage to the late hero, General 
Sir Isaac Brock, who offered his life as a sacrifice 
in the cause he so gallantly defended. He was the 
brave leader who led the white man and Indian in 
the defence of our country, our flag, and all that 
pertained to the maintenance of British institu- 
tions. 

Our act to-day is a noble one. It is of a kind that 
touches deep down into the heart that throbs with 
affection's glow. It is one worthy of emulation 
by our posterity. We as a people should never lose 
sight of the great importance that must attach to 
this occasion, and of the duty we owe to our chil- 
dren to do all we can to impress their minds with 
the precepts of loyalty to the king and crown, that 
should be ever steadfast and immovable. 

As a member of the Six Nations it is not alto- 
gether my wish that I should be looked upon on 
this occasion as a mere representative of my 
nation, but rather as a representative of the noble 
native Indian race which has so conspicuously 
identified itself with British arms at critical 
periods in the history of our fair Dominion. 

One hundred years ago our country and people 
were befogged by conditions that were grey and 
ominous. It was very uncertain as to the part, if 
any, the Indians would take in the impending con- 
flict. 

74 



THE SPEECHES 

From this spot, almost, General Brock set out 
for Amherstburg to arrange plans of campaign, 
and there met and shook hands with Tecumseh, 
this patriot Indian giving the assurance to his 
chief in command of the forces that he and his 
united Indian tribes composed of the Shawanoes, 
Wyandottes, Chippewas, Ottawas, Foxes and 
others, were ready to go into the field of action in 
defence of the British cause. 

Like General Brock, this noble red man, as a 
leader of his kinsmen, also sacrificed his life in 
the cause of his king and country. And sad is it 
to say that not even a heave of the turf marks his 
last resting-place. 

It is not for me to laud or unduly magnify the 
important part the Indians have played in wars 
that have marked our country's history-making: 
but should such an emergency again present 
itself, I feel confident that the Indians will never 
be found wanting. 



MR. CHARLES R. McCULLOUGH 

Honorary President of the Association of Canadian Clubs 

I tender my thanks to the Committee for honour- 
ing the hundred clubs of the Dominion by inviting 
their honorary president to take part in the pro- 
ceedings of this great day. 

The real celebration of the centenary of the 
battle and the fitting remembrance of the hero who 
gave up his life for Canada one hundred years ago, 
has already taken place in the six thousand schools 
by six hundred thousand scholars of this premier 
Province of Ontario. By this vast army of patriots 
in the making there has been celebrated within the 
past few days in song and story the splendid hero- 
ism of the immortal Brock, and the work done by 
him for our common country a century ago. 

75 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

In that great work he was nobly seconded by the 
brilliant young Glengarrian Macdonell, who, like 
his illustrious leader, fell on the slope of this 
sacred hill. 

In this dread contest there fought side by side 
regular soldier and militiaman; the noble red man 
and the freed black man contended against a com- 
mon enemy to that freedom and that constitution 
that every Briton loves so well. 

It was indeed a proud thing for Canadians to 
remember that whilst there was a great Imperial 
officer to lead the little band, close beside him in 
the great struggle there ever stood a valorous 
Canadian aide-de-camp. Yes, for every regular 
that contended for the maintenance of British law 
and authority in this Canada of ours there were 
fighting by his side the farmer and the tradesman 
of those heroic days. 

Was not this prophetic of that future co-opera- 
tion between mother and daughter states? Was it 
not full of the deepest meaning for us of the twen- 
tieth century? Could we not say " Thy people are 
my people and my people thy people "? As in the 
days of yore, so in these days of Canada's abound- 
ing prosperity and increasing national greatness, 
there would be found men and means for any 
national or Imperial emergency that the future 
might have in store for us. 

Our magnificently proportioned Canada must 
have a magnificently proportioned soul if she 
would fulfil her high destiny of eventual leader- 
ship in the band of sister nations within an Empire 
indissolubly bound by ties of love and sacrifice. 
In enlarging the soul of our people such celebra- 
tions as these have their sure and certain part, and 
the thrill of Brock's great name will stir this 
people's soul so long as Canada shall endure. 



A brief and eloquent speech was also made by 
Mr. W. M. German, M.P., Welland, Ont. 

76 




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APPENDIX I. 

HIGHLAND HEROES IN THE WAR OF 
1812-14* 

By Dr. Alexander Fraser, Toronto 

While with a fine sense of fitness the part taken 
by the men of Glengarry, Ontario, in the 1812-14 
war is rarely referred to by the descendants of those 
who fought so well and fell for their country, it is 
but meet on a centennial occasion as is now being 
celebrated that the distinguished services of the 
clansmen should not be forgotten. Much, indeed, 
could be said of the Macdonells, Macdonalds, Mac- 
leans, MacMillans, Chisholms, Camerons and 
Grants, as well as of other kindred families, who 
displayed all the ardour of the Highland moun- 
taineer in defence of home and country, and who 
occupied second place then nor subsequently when 
the war-note sounded. These brief lines, however, 
must deal only with Lieutenant-Colonel John Mac- 
donell, who fell mortally wounded at Queenston 
Heights, and whose name cannot be disassociated 
in history from that of Brock, the chief hero of the 
war. 

The many intermarriages in the course of genera- 
tions between members of different houses of the 
Glengarry branch of Clan Donald have created 
genealogical intricacies not always threaded by the 
general reader. The identity of Colonel John Mac- 
donell, the Queenston hero, however, need never 
have been in doubt. He 'was descended from Angus 
Macdonell of Greenfield, a grandson of Ranald, 

* Reprinted from the Toronto Globe and Mail and Empire 
of the 12th of October, 1912. 

77 



BROOK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

the ninth chief of Glengarry — in Gaelic, styled 
" Mac-ic-Alasdair." The Macdonells of Greenfield 
are nearer the main line of the Glengarry family 
than the cadet branches of Aberchalder, Cullachie 
and Leek — many of whom settled in Canada, who 
left the parent stock at an earlier period. They 
might reasonably be regarded as representative of 
all the Glengarry Macdonells of Canada. 

Angus Macdonell of Greenfield had one son, Alex- 
ander, who came to Canada in 1792. He was mar- 
ried in Scotland to a daughter of Alexander Mac- 
donell of Aberchalder (Captain 1st Battalion, 
King's Royal Regiment of New York), and among 
the issue of that marriage were Duncan, who suc- 
ceeded his father, John, who fell with Brock, and 
Donald, who figured at Ogdensburg, 1813. 

John Macdonell (Queenston) was born in 1785, 
in Scotland, and with his family came to Canada 
when seven years of age. In due course he became 
member of the Legislature for Glengarry and Attor- 
ney-General for Upper Canada. He was a Colonel 
of Militia, and on the outbreak of the war of 1812 
acted as Military Secretary and Provincial A.D C. 
to General Sir Isaac Brock. His legal talents were 
regarded as of high order, and of his military abili- 
ties Brock entertained a very good opinion indeed. 
As President of the Council and Administrator of 
Upper Canada, General Brock occupied the highest 
civil position in the Province, and the chief military 
position as General of the forces under his com- 
mand. 

Lieutenant- Colonel John Macdonell, as Attorney- 
General, filled the next highest civil position to 
Brock in Upper Canada, and, as Military Secretary 
and P.A.D.C, was next highest in importance, if 
not in rank, to his chief in the field. Testimony 
was warmly borne by some of the most capable to 
judge, of his dominance in the military operations, 
and the subsequent negotiations, at Detroit, and the 

78 



APPENDIX I 

papers in connection therewith, which he is said to 
have drafted, bear the mark of his patriotic and 
generous mind. The Prince Kegent, in expressing 
his regret at the loss which the country must expe- 
rience by the death of the Attorney-General, 
declared that " his zealous co-operation with Sir 
Isaac Brock would reflect lasting honour on his 
memory." Like Brock, he died unmarried; like 
him, too, he was engaged to be married at the time 
of his death. His fiancee was Miss Powell, daugh- 
ter of the Chief Justice. 

The story is told that at the commencement of 
the war, before making his will, Colonel Macdonell 
told Miss Powell that, though he had only a little 
estate to dispose of, about £300 in money, his books, 
papers and personal effects, together with ten acres 
of land on Church Street, Toronto, he wished her 
to have first choice of either the money and effects, 
or the land, for herself; the other part to go to a 
relative. She chose the money and the personalty, 
and the ten acres of land on Church Street went 
to his relative and godson, James Macdonell, 
son of his host, the Hon. Alexander Macdonell, 
Toronto, in whose family the title still remains. 

Colonel Macdonell's father, Colonel Alexander 
Macdonell, commanded the 2nd Battalion, Glen- 
garry Militia, in the war, and two of his brothers 
also had commissions, Duncan Macdonell, as a Cap- 
tain, commanding a company at Ogdensburg 
(under Colonel George Macdonell), and Donald 
Greenfield Macdonell, who also commanded a com- 
pany at Ogdensburg. Duncan, the elder brother, 
succeeded his father as Lieutenant- Colonel, com- 
manding the 2nd Battalion, Glengarry Militia, 
until 1857, when he received the thanks of the Gov- 
ernor-General " for his long and valuable services 
dating from the last war." His son, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Archibald J. Macdonell, was also command- 
ing officer of his grandfather's and father's regi- 

79 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

ment from 1857 to 18G4. He was a barrister, and 
a Bencher, and Recorder at Kingston, and for many 
years a partner with Sir John A. Macdonald, Prime 
Minister of Canada. His only son is the well- 
known Lieut.-Col. John A. Macdonell, Alexandria, 
Ontario, now the head of the Greenfield family, 
whose patriotic sentiments and antiquarian tastes 
have often found eloquent and useful expression. 
He is a grandnephew of Colonel Macdonell ( Queen- 
ston ) and fifth of Greenfield. 

Donald Greenfield Macdonell, who commanded a 
company at Ogdensburg (brother of Colonel Mac- 
donell, Queenston), became D.A.Q.M.G in the war, 
was a Colonel of Militia and Deputy Adjutant-Gen- 
eral from 1846 to 1861. He had the honour of lay- 
ing the corner-stone of the monument to Sir Isaac 
Brock at Queenston in 1853. Among his grand- 
sons are Donald Greenfield Macdonell, barrister, 
Vancouver, heir male, after Lieut.-Col. John A. Mac- 
donell, Alexandria, Ontario, and A. McLean Mac- 
donell, K.C., the well-known barrister of Toronto. 

The connection of Mr. A. McLean Macdonell, 
K.C., of Toronto, with the War of 1812 is perhaps 
unique. Not only had his paternal great-grand- 
father and three sons, the Macdonells of Greenfield, 
commissions in the War of 1812, as above stated, but 
his maternal great-grandfather and three sons also 
held commissions in that war, viz., the Honourable 
Neil McLean and his three sons: 1st, the Honour- 
able Archibald McLean, afterwards Chief Justice 
of Upper Canada. It is said that when Colonel 
Macdonell fell, McLean was near him, and he called 
out to him : " Help me, Archie." 2nd, John 
McLean, afterwards Sheriff of Kingston ; and 3rd, 
Colonel Alexander McLean, who shows an excellent 
military record, and whose daughter married John 
Macdonell of Greenfield, Mr. McLean Macdonell's 
father. Thus, Mr. McLean Macdonell had two 
great-grandfathers, two grandfathers, and four 

80 



APPENDIX I 

granduncles, all holding important commissions in 
the only war which has vitally threatened Canada. 

The connection between A. Claude Macdonell, 
M.P., Toronto, and Lieutenant-Colonel John Mac- 
donell (Queenston) is by intermarriage in the fam- 
ilies of Aberchalder and Cullachie. The Aberchal- 
ders gave a father, Captain Alexander, and three 
sons, John, Hugh, and Chichester, to the American 
revolutionary war. John was a Captain in Butler's 
Rangers and was the first Speaker of the first 
House of Assembly of Upper Canada, in 1792. 
Hugh was an officer in the King's Royal Regiment 
and in the Royal Canadian Volunteer Regiment. 
He was one of the members for Glengarry in the 
first Legislature of Upper Canada. He afterwards 
served at Gibraltar, and as British Consul-General 
at Algiers. Chichester served in Butler's Rangers, 
and became a colonel in the British army, winning 
distinction at Corunna. 

Allan Macdonell of Cullachie (closely related to 
Aberchalder) was a captain in the 84th Royal 
Highland Emigrant Regiment, and his son, Alex- 
ander, an officer in Butler's Rangers, was prom- 
inent in the military-political life of Upper Canada, 
and at the time of the 1812 war was a colonel of 
Militia and Deputy Postmaster-General. His son, 
Angus Duncan Macdonell, who died in 1894, was 
the father of Mr. Angus Claude Macdonell, M.P. for 
South Toronto. 

When Colonel Macdonell (Queenston) came to 
Toronto as a young man in connection with his 
profession, he resided with his relative, the Honour- 
able Alexander Macdonell, Mr. Claude Macdonell's 
grandfather, and it was from his home he went to 
the front. Needless to say, Colonel Macdonell's 
memory is sacredly cherished among these and 
many others of his kith and kin in Canada, as it is 
indeed by all lovers of the heroic in Canadian 
history. 

81 



APPENDIX II. 
TORONTO GARRISON CHURCH PARADE 

In commemoration of the Centenary of the Death 

of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock at the 

Battle of Queenston Heights 

Massey Hall, Sunday, October 13th, 1912, 3 p.m. 

Major-General W. H. Cotton, Commanding 

The musical portion of the service was rendered 
by the massed bands of the garrison under the 
direction of Bandmaster G. I. Timpson, Queen's 
Own Rifles. 

ORDER OF DIVINE SERVICE 

Opening Voluntary 

grand processional march 

" The Silver Trumpets »--■-- Viviani 

Band of the Queen's Own Riflee 

Hymn, " Soldiers of Christ, Arise " 

Put on the whole armour of God 

Soldiers of Christ, arise, 

And put your armour on ; 
Strong in the strength which God supplies, 

Through His Eternal Son ; 

Strong in the Lord of Hosts, 

And in His mighty power ; 
Who in the strength of Jesus trusts 

Is more than conqueror. 

82 



APPENDIX II 

Stand then in His great might, 
With all His strength endued; 

And take to arm you for the fight, 
The panoply of God. 

From strength to strength go on, 

Wrestle, and fight, and pray ; 
Tread all the powers of darkness down, 

And win the well-fought day. 

That having all things done, 

And all your conflicts past, 
Ye may obtain, through Christ alone, 

A crown of joy at last. Amen. 

General Confession 

(To be said by all, standing) 

Almighty and most merciful Father; We have 
erred and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep. 
We have followed too much the devices and desires 
of our own hearts. We have offended against Thy 
Holy Laws. We have left undone the things which 
we ought to have done; And we have done those 
things which we ought not to have done ; And there 
is no health in us. But Thou, O Lord, have mercy 
upon us, miserable offenders. Spare Thou them, 
O God, which confess their faults. Restore Thou 
them that are penitent; according to Thy promises 
declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. 
And grant, O most merciful Father, for His sake, 
that we may hereafter live a godly, righteous and 
sober life, To the glory of Thy Holy Name. Amen. 

Prayer for Pardon 

O Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who desireth not the death of a sinner, but 
rather that he may turn from his wickedness, and 

83 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

live, pardon and accept, we beseech Thee, all those 
who truly repent and unfeignedly believe Thy Holy 
Gospel. Grant us true repentance and Thy Holy 
Spirit ; that those things may please Thee which we 
do at this present ; and that the rest of our life here- 
after may be pure and holy; so that at the last we 
may come to Thy eternal joy; through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 

The Lord's Prayer 

Prayer for the King's Majesty 

(All standing) 

O Lord, our Heavenly Father, high and mighty, 
King of kings, Lord of lords, the only Ruler of 
princes, who dost from Thy throne behold all the 
dwellers upon earth ; most heartily we beseech Thee 
with Thy favor to behold our most gracious Sov- 
ereign Lord, King George; and so replenish him 
with the grace of Thy Holy Spirit, that he may 
alway incline to Thy will, and walk in Thy way; 
Endue him plenteously with heavenly gifts; grant 
him in health and wealth long to live; strengthen 
him that he may vanquish and overcome all his 
enemies; and finally, after this life, he may attain 
everlasting joy and felicity; through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 

Prayer for the Royal Family 

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness, we 
humbly beseech Thee to bless our gracious Queen 
Mary, Alexandra the Queen Mother, Edward Prince 
of Wales and all the Royal Family; Endue them 
with Thy Holy Spirit ; enrich them with Thy heav- 
enly grace; prosper them with all happiness; and 
bring them to Thine everlasting kingdom ; through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

84 



APPENDIX II 

Prayer for Soldiers 

Grant, we beseech Thee, Almighty God, that we 
who are called to the service of our Empire, may 
ever remember the honour which we uphold and the 
privilege which is entrusted to us, to defend our 
Sovereign, our homes and our country. Enable us at 
all times to do what is right, and so to conduct our- 
selves, that we may bring no disgrace upon the 
uniform which we wear, nor upon the flag under 
which we serve. Make us faithful, brave and true 
to our duty, and especially to Thee, our God, as 
soldiers of Christ and soldiers of the King. Keep 
us, defend us and save us at all times ; fill our hearts 
with courage and love, and may we never be 
ashamed to confess Thee before men, as good sol- 
diers and servants of Thine. And this we ask for 
the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Scripture Lesson 

Offertory 

Voluntary 

" In the Chapel " R. Eileriberg 

Band of the Queen's Own Rifles 

SERMON 

By Captain the Rev. Dr. Llwyd, Chaplain to the 
Queen's Own Rifles. 

Hymn, " Stand up for Jesus " 

Quit you like men, be strong 

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, 

Ye soldiers of the Cross; 
Lift high His Royal Banner, 

It must not suffer loss ; 

85 



BKOCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

From victory unto victory 
His army He shall lead; 

Till every foe is vanquished, 
And Christ is Lord indeed. 

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, 

The trumpet call obey; 
Forth to the mighty conflict 

In this His glorious day; 
Ye that are men now serve Him 

Against unnumbered foes; 
Let courage rise with danger, 

And strength to strength oppose. 

Stand up, stand up for Jesus; 

Stand in His Strength alone ; 
The arm of flesh will fail you, 

Ye dare not trust your own ; 
Put on the gospel armour, 

And watching unto prayer, 
Where duty calls, or danger, 

Be never wanting there. 

Stand up, stand up for Jesus ; 

The strife will not be long ; 
This day the noise of battle, 

The next the victors' song; 
To him that overcometh 

A crown of life shall be ; 
He with the King of glory 

Shall reign eternally. Amen. 

National Anthem 

God save our Gracious King, 
Long live our noble King, 
God save the King. 
Send him victorious, 
Happy and glorious, 
Long to reign over us; 
God save the King. 

86 - ' ' 



APPENDIX II 

Thy choicest gifts in store, 
On him be pleased to pour; 
Long may he reign. 
May he defend our laws, 
And ever give us cause 
To sing with heart and voice, 
God save the King. 

Benediction 

Recessional 

The "Priests' March" from "Athalie" - Mendelssohn 
Band of the Queen's Own Rifles 



87 



APPENDIX III. 

INDIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE 

RECONSTRUCTION OF BROCKS 

MONUMENT 

(Communicated by the Editor.) 

The indignation aronsed by the destruction of 
the first monument erected to General Brock was 
fully shared by the Indians of Ontario. Meetings of 
the Bands were held at which expression was given 
to the feelings which stirred their hearts. They 
asked the Government to allow them to join with 
the White Men in contributing to the Fund for the 
reconstruction of the monument, and this having 
been most cordially granted, a sum amounting to 
£207 10s. was raised among the Indians in sums 
varying from £7 10s. to £15 and paid over to the 
general fund on behalf of the following Bands : — 

The Chippewas of the Upper Reserve, on the 
River St. Clair. 

The Chippewas of the Lower Reserve and Wal- 
pole Island, on the River St. Clair. 

The Hurons and Wyandotts of Amherstburg. 

The Chippewas of the River Thames. 

The Munsees of the River Thames. 

The Oneidas of the River Thames. 

The Six Nation Indians of the Grand River. 

The Missisagua of the River Credit. 

The Chippewas of the Saugeen River, Lake 
Huron. 

The Chippewas of the Township of Rama, Lake 
Couchiching. 

The Chippewas of Snake Island, Lake Simcoe. 

The Missisagua of Alnwick, Rice Lake. 

88 




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APPENDIX III 

The Missisagua of Rice Lake Village, Otonabee ; 
and of Mud and Balsam Lakes. 
The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte. 

The following petition from "the Missisagua of 
Rice Lake, shows the spirit in which the Indians 
acted: 

"To Samuel P. Jarvis, Esquire, Chief Superin- 
tendent of Indian Affairs. 

" Father : 

" We have heard of the wicked attempt to destroy 
the Monument of our old Chief, Sir Isaac Brock; 
and are also informed of the intention of the White 
Man to rebuild it. 

" Father : 

" We respect the memory of the brave, and are 
sorry to find that there are any who do not. 

" Some of us fought on the same field on which 
the gallant general fell. We then felt the same 
sorrow in our hearts that our loyal brothers in 
arms, the White Men, felt, and we still unite with 
them in the deepest regret at our common loss. 
These feelings urge us readily to contribute our 
share to the expense of re-building that Monument 
which was designed to perpetuate the fame of such 
noble deeds. 

" Father : 

" We, who are thus ready to assist in the present 
exigency, will never be backward in testifying our 
loyal principles by still more substantial proofs, 
whenever our Great Mother, the Queen, shall lay 
her commands upon us. We will never refuse to 
hear her words. Our Great Fathers, her Royal pre- 
decessors, have been very kind to her people. We 
are not unthankful. We do not wish to be idle ; but 
whenever we may be called upon to defend the 
honour and rights of the British Crown, we will 
most heartily strain every nerve, and do all the 
service in our power. 

89 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

" Father : 

" We authorize you to subscribe from our monies 
the sum of Fifteen Pounds, in aid of the praise- 
worthy work about to be performed; and may the 
blessing of the Great Spirit make it prosper. 

" Dated at Rice Lake Mission, Otonabee, January 
7, 1841. 

" George Paudash, Principal Chief 
" John Crow, Chief. 
" John Copoway, Chief. 
" John Taunchey, Chief. 

" Read over to the Chiefs and signed by them 
in presence of — 

Henry Baldwin, Jun." 

The generous action of the Indians was much 
appreciated by the British Government and the fol- 
lowing acknowledgment was made by Lord John 
Russell, on its behalf: — 

" Downing Street, 

" 6th May, 1841. 
" No. 372. 
"My Lord: 

"I received by the last mail from Canada a 
pamphlet, containing the correspondence, addresses, 
etc., connected with the subscription of various 
Indian Tribes in Upper Canada, in aid of the funds 
for the reconstruction of Sir Isaac Brock's Monu- 
ment on Queenston Heights. 

" The feelings evinced by the Indians on this 
occasion are much to their credit. I have to request 
that your Lordship will convey to them the thanks 
of the British Government and nation for their 
zealous co-operation, and renew to them the assur- 
ances of the Queen's regard for their welfare. 

" I have, etc., 

" (Signed) J. Russell. 

" The Right Honourable Lord Sydenham." 

90 



APPENDIX IV. 



MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE 
COMMITTEE 

A meeting of the Executive Committee of the 
Brock Centenary was held on the 16th October, 
1912, there being present : Col. Ryerson, Dr. James 
L. Hughes, Dr. Alexander Fraser, Mr. C. E. Mac- 
donald, Mr. F. D. L. Smith, and Miss Helen M. 
Merrill, Secretary. 

It was resolved: — 

That the thanks of the Committee be conveyed to 
the Right Honourable R. L. Borden, Prime Minis- 
ter of Canada, and his Government for the military 
arrangements that had been made in connection 
with the celebration of the Centenary; and to the 
Honourable Dr. Pyne, Minister of Education of 
Ontario, for so cheerfully complying with all the 
suggestions made by the Committee with respect to 
the holding of patriotic exercises in the public 
schools. 

That the publication of the Account of the Cen- 
tenary celebration be proceeded with; and that 
Dr. Alexander Fraser (Chairman), Col. Ryerson, 
Mr. F. D. L. Smith, and Miss Helen M. Merrill be 
the Publication Committee in this matter. 

That all the correspondence and papers in con- 
nection with the Centenary be deposited in the 
Ontario Archives, Toronto. 

That the proposal to place a bronze tablet, com- 
memorative of the Centenary, on Brock's monu- 
ment at Queenston Heights be brought before the 
co-operating societies, and that action be taken in 
accordance with their opinion. 

91 



BROCK CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION 

That the striking of a Centennial medal be left 
in abeyance in the meantime. 

At a meeting of the Executive Committee held on 
the 25th of October, 1912, Col. Ryerson presiding, 
the subject of publication of the Centenary volume 
was minutely discussed. It was agreed that Dr. 
Alexander Fraser should edit the MS. for the press 
and that the work be proceeded with. 




CAPTAIN JOSEPH BIRNEY. 



APPENDIX V 

CAPTAIN JOSEPH BIRNEY 

Contributed by J. L. Birney, Toronto, Son of Captain 

Joseph Birney, from whose Narrative these 

Statements have been Compiled. 

Captain Birney was born in Orange County, 
in the State of New York, on the 1st of February, 
1777. 

In 1779 his father, William Birney, was killed at 
the battle of Lackawack, New York, in suppressing 
an Indian uprising, and upon their bereavement 
his mother, with his sister, a child in arms, and 
himself a child two years old, made her way 
through the forest, sixty miles, to New York City. 
In the year 1783 or 1784 he was baptized in Trinity 
Church, New York City. When the British evacu- 
ated New York, Captain Birney, with his family 
and friends, went with the British to where now 
is situated St. John, New Brunswick, and resided 
there until 1801, when he came to Upper Canada, 
and settled where Hamilton is to-day. While in 
New Brunswick he taught the Duke of Kent to 
skate, both of them often practising together on 
St. John's River. 

In Upper Canada Captain Birney entered into the 
military life of the time. He was over six feet in 
height, powerfully built, and was well fitted for 
the stirring life then before him. 

In 1812 he was Ensign in Captain Hatt's com- 
pany, which accompanied Sir Isaac Brock to 
Detroit, and his commission as Ensign, signed by 
Sir Isaac Brock, is now in possession of his son, 
John L. Birney, of Toronto. Captain Birney was 
present when General Brock first met Tecumseh, 

93 



APPENDIX V 

and he often related how the General was impressed 
with the wonderful personality of the great chief. 

As Lieutenant he served in Captain Durand's com- 
pany of 5th Lincoln Militia at the Battle of Queen- 
ston Heights. He was attached to Brock's staff 
as a special aide, to supervise the laying of the 
batteries. Shortly before the Canadians were 
driven from the heights, General Brock found that 
in firing at the Americans who were coming across 
the river the bullets were flying short, and he gave 
the order to Colonel Williams to cease firing, but 
Colonel Williams, mistaking the order to mean 
" retire," began to retire by Niagara. Sir Isaac 
remarked, " That's effective," but Captain Birney, 
noticing Colonel Williams' movement, remarked, 
" But, General, you did not mean to retire !" " By 
no means," answered Sir Isaac. "Oh, for one to 
bring them back!" "May I go?" offered Birney. 
" By all means go, Birney," ordered the General, 
whereupon Captain Birney ran down the steep 
slope of the heights as fast as he could. On the way 
down he noticed the mullein stalks being cut off, 
and stepping on a slippery spot he fell violently on 
the broad of his back. 

At this he heard a great cheer, and looking 
up saw the cause of it all. The Americans were 
in possession of a portion of the heights, and their 
sharpshooters, thinking they had succeeded in inter- 
cepting him in his errand, had set up a cheer, but 
Birney was soon afoot, and came up with Colonel 
Williams, who upon seeing Birney, called his men 
to halt, and enquired, " What's the matter, Birney? 
Orders from the General?" Birney, being entirely 
out of breath, from his efforts and fall, could not 
answer, and Colonel Williams further enquired, 
" Did the General not order us to retire?" Birney 
shook his head. " What, then?" asked Colonel Wil- 
liams. " To cease firing," Birney managed to whis- 
per. At this the Colonel uttered an oath and smote 
himself a terrific blow on the forehead with, his fist. 

94 



APPENDIX V 

They had not returned far when they heard a voice 
say "Halt!" and looking up they saw the General 
and his men, they having been driven from the sum- 
mit. There was a short conference, when the Gen- 
eral decided to go around by St. David's and there 
attack the enemy. But they had not gone far when 
Birney, who was immediately behind the General, 
heard a groan, and looking up saw the General 
falling from his horse, and, rushing forward he 
assisted him to the ground. With a few parting 
orders the General was dead. 

After this Birney had to take command of his 
own company, and with the rest they fell in order 
and marched around the mountain by St David's 
and there surprised the Americans eating their 
(the Canadians') breakfast, as the Americans had 
surprised them earlier in the morning. And then 
commenced the real fighting of the day. The 
Americans after a hand-to-hand fight were charged 
and driven out, many of them being forced over 
the heights into Niagara River. Captain Birney 
used to remark that with his sword in one hand 
and a broken gunbarrel in the other he led his 
men m this charge, and it was a sorry day for anv 
American who came within his reach. Among the 
many prisoners Captain Birney assisted in captur- 

« ng J l day WaS his cousin > Captain Winfield 
kcott, afterwards General Scott, who, after being 
taken toYork, was exchanged for prisoners 

f» t? P w*? ! T? lGd MS com P an y> the 5th Lincoln, 
in the battle of Lundy's Lane in 1814, coming out 

scratch 8 dId ^ aH hiS enga 2 ements > without a 
He used to take pleasure in relating how, after 
the Americans had been badly beaten and had made 
a hasty retreat, leaving their men to be buried 
there was left behind a lone gunner who stuck to 
his cannon. Birney and a number of his men 
marched down upon this man for the purpose of 
capturing the gun, and as they approached him, 

95 



APPENDIX V 

three times did this gunner swing his torch with 
the purpose of firing his gun, but each time he 
drew back from the fuse and finally threw his 
torch upon the ground. Birney said it was well 
he did, as he and many of his men would not 
have lived to tell the tale, as they were walking 
directly in the face of the cannon. He also took 
pride in telling how one Canadian cannon was 
taken and retaken many times that night, while 
lying in heaps around it were Canadians and 
Americans who had fought and died bravely. 

When the Rebellion of 1837 broke out Captain 
Birney was the oldest officer surviving the troubles 
of 1812-14. Being at that time over age he did 
not wish to take any part in the fighting, feeling 
he had served his country well and sufficiently up 
to that time, and he felt in addition that through 
favoritism many who had served under him had 
been promoted over his head. However, through 
the personal efforts of Sir Allan McNab and Col- 
onel Land he was persuaded to take command 
of a company of the 3rd Gore Militia, which post 
he held until about 1841, being actively engaged 
in military affairs during all that period. 

Some of his work at this time was the building 
of the bridge for the troops to cross the water-gap 
at Burlington Heights, and he also was engaged 
in constructing the defence works on Burlington 
Heights during the battle of Stoney Creek for use 
in case of retreat. He was afterwards with his 
company in charge of the 112 prisoners who were 
held and tried at Hamilton. 

When Captain Birney died, in 1873, being in his 
96th year, he was the oldest living Mason in Canada, 
having joined the Craft in 1803. 



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